Infiltrate Preventers
by Staryday
Summary: The Preventer Organization is compiling evidence that magic is real so newly elected Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt sends his best three trainees to infiltrate them and hide the existence of magic. But that might be harder than they expect when an unknown group is determined to reveal the magical world to everyone, no matter what the consequences. Harry/Duo Includes FRA
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. All recognizable characters belong to their respective creators.**

**A/N: So I don't know why I'm posting another new story when I've already got two others. But this is the one I've been working on so I figured I should share it.**

**This story was posted a few years back too but it's gotten a reworking. The basis for the plot is the same but I've tweaked it a little bit. If you remember this from years ago make sure you still read the first chapter, I've added/changed a few things.**

**Chapter One: Mission Assigned**

Harry dodged a curse that was sent flying over his shoulder and dove to the ground into a roll. Ron shot two more curses at him and charged forward, trying to disarm his friend. Harry jumped to his feet and called on his magic to give him an extra boost as he leapt over six feet into the air. He performed a flip and landed behind Ron, stunning him on the back. Ron collapsed to the ground but Harry didn't get a chance to enjoy his victory as Hermione appeared from above him and dropped almost onto his head from the ceiling.

Harry barely managed to dodge and felt Hermione's fingers scratch his arm. In accordance with the rules of the game they were playing, Harry had to assume that he had just had his arm cut deeply with a knife. He switched wand hands and allowed his "hurt" arm to dangle uselessly by his side. Hermione wasted no time and ran forward, cursing and punching alternatively. Harry weaved around her spells and fists with a small smile on his face. His friend had come a long way since they entered Auror training together. She had learned how to fight and become a formidable opponent. Ron too, had honed his skills and started figuring out how to fight with his brain along with his fists.

Harry sent Hermione a smirk and jerked to the side, grabbing her wrist. He gently kneed her in the stomach, enough to stop her but not hurt, and twirled his wand around to rest on her temple. Hermione pouted at him and Harry smiled full out.

"I win."

"No one likes a braggart, Harry." Hermione straightened and revived Ron.

"Don't be like that. You did great! Ron had me on the run for a few minutes and you managed to take out my arm."

"You were holding back," Ron complained.

Harry went to argue more but the door to the training room opened and Kingsley entered with the three's Auror trainer, Van-Wagner. The three stood at attention and saluted by placing their wand at the temple and jerked down, much like a muggle salute, but they added a twist at the end. The wizard twirled their wand in their hand and sent out small white sparks before resting their wand against their forearm in the standard defensive position.

"Stand down, gentlemen," Van-Wagner ordered. At Hermione's pointed glare the teacher sighed. "And lady."

The three relaxed as Kingsley stepped forward and held out a hand to each of them to shake. "It's good to see you three again."

"You too, Kingsley. Congratulations on becoming the permanent Minister of Magic."

"It was an honor but things are a mess."

"Gee, can't imagine why." Ron's voice was laced with sarcasm and his friends discreetly smiled.

"Now Mr. Weasley, you know it's rude to speak ill of the dead."

"Was there something you needed, Minister?" Harry asked. "I doubt you came here just to chat."

"You're right, Harry. Would you three be kind enough to get cleaned up and join me in my office in say, an hour?"

The trio shrugged. "Sure, we'll be there."

* * *

Harry apparated into his flat and tossed his Auror robes onto his couch. He wanted to take a quick shower before his meeting with the Minister. He and the others had been training all day and he could tell he stunk slightly. Ron and Hermione had returned to their own home to clean up as well.

As Harry stripped off his shirt and tossed it carelessly on the floor, he paused. Something felt wrong and he looked around, trying to act natural. Movement caught his eye from the kitchen and Harry reacted without thought. He drew his wand and sent a stunning spell at the counter. A high pitched scream met his ears and a girl fell down on the floor. She looked up at Harry in a mix of awe and terror. Harry scowled deeply.

"Who are you?"

"I-I'm sorry, Savior!" the girl stuttered. "I j-just wanted to m-meet you!"

Harry sighed, not even trying to hide his annoyance. "How did you get in here?"

"Oh, I um, the wards around the place aren't strong and I'm really good with wards. I'm going to school to become a ward maker!"

"Fascinating," Harry deadpanned. "How did you find out where I lived?" The girl looked away and Harry shook his head. "Well?"

"Well the fan club—"

Harry made a sound of disgust and turned away, grabbing his shirt and shoving it back on. The Harry Potter fan club was the single most annoying thing in the entire world. They had formed after Voldemort's defeat two years ago and steadily grew. At first Harry had ignored them, thinking they were harmless, but as the club grew they became more of a problem. They started stopping him on the street for pictures and appearing at his apartment, begging for autographs or just wanting to look at him. Harry had been forced to move constantly wear glamour charms to try and hide in crowds better. He put up low level wards around wherever he was living at the time. He would put up stronger ones but with how often he moved stronger wards were troublesome. Up until today, the low-level stuff had been fine.

"So what do you want?" Harry asked in a resigned sort of way. "An autograph? An interview? What?"

"Oh I just wanted too..." the girl floundered, staring at him with star struck eyes. "I just wanted to meet you."

"Well you've met me," Harry snapped. "And now I get to move _again._ Thanks." He grabbed a piece of parchment and quill and signed his name with a quick flourish. "Here, now please leave."

She took the paper with wide eyes and held it as if a treasured object. The girl stared at him a moment longer before Harry got annoyed and walked over to his from door, holding it open and very firmly pointing outside. The girl got the hint and scurried out.

"Thank you—"

Harry shut the door in her face and waved his wand harshly, locking the door with the most powerful spell he knew. He was so sick of his fan club. They were all harmless but drove him mad. After the war the Wizarding World had stopped referring to him by his name and called him "The Savior" instead. Only Harry's closet friends used his real name anymore. The hero-worship had reached an all time high and Harry desperately wanted a break.

After making sure there weren't anymore people in his flat, Harry quickly showered and returned to the Ministry. Ron and Hermione were already waiting for him outside of the Minister's office. Both were dressed semi-formally and talking amicably. Harry joined them in the waiting chairs outside the office.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione asked. "You look upset."

"Another fan club member was hiding in my flat."

"Again?" Hermione exclaimed. "That's the fourth time in three months!" Harry shrugged.

"You didn't have wards up?" Ron asked.

"I did but this girl was going to school to be a ward maker and got through them."

"Harry, this is getting to be too much. You need to put a stop to them."

"I've tried!" Harry exclaimed in exasperation. "They're a completely legal group so I can't get them disbanded."

"What about settling down?" Hermione suggested. "Buy a house and set up strong, permanent wards so they can't break in anymore."

Harry shrugged, glancing away. "I'm not ready to settle down. I'd like to live a normal life as a bachelor for a few years before picking somewhere permanent."

The door to the Minister's office suddenly opened and three very irate purebloods came storming from the Minister's office, their faces furious. Harry watched them go with a raised eyebrow.

"The Halex family," Hermione said. "They never openly supported Voldemort but were suspected of funding him during the first and second wars."

Ron sneered after the family. "Wanna-be Death Eaters who were too afraid to pick up a wand and fight."

"Personally, I think that's a good thing. The less Death Eaters we had to fight the better." Harry sighed and knocked on the door to the Minister's office. They were called to enter and found a haggard Kingsley behind his desk with Van-Wagner standing behind him, looking over his shoulder at a file.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley," Kingsley gestured to some chairs, "Please have a seat. And secure the door, Mr. Weasley."

Ron did as asked as everyone sat down. Kingsley put his folder away and pulled out another one, handing it to Harry.

"I have a special mission for the three of you. Now before you open that folder, I must make sure you understand the situation fully. This mission is voluntary and because of its undercover nature, there's no telling how long it might take. It could be anywhere from a couple weeks to over six months. During that time, you will be expected to live as someone else entirely. If you chose to accept, you will be provided with false identities."

"What's this mission?" Harry asked.

"It's an infiltration mission. You would be infiltrating a muggle organization and gathering information."

"What organization?"

"I can't tell you that unless you accept."

Harry rolled his eyes. He hated things like that; where you had to agree to something first before finding anything out. Missions like that usually screwed you over.

"Why us?" Hermione asked. "Why not chose someone with more undercover experience?"

Kingsley smiled. "You are more than qualified for this, Ms. Granger."

"That may be true, Minister, but so are a lot of other Aurors. Aurors who have actually graduated from training."

"You're age and special skill set make the three of you prime candidates for this mission. I do have a few other people in mind if you three say no, but I'd rather you say yes. You are my first choice."

Hermione sat back with a slight huff and looked to Ron and Harry next to. Ron was leaned back in his chair with a slightly pensive face but he didn't appear to be overly concerned with the new mission. Harry was staring hard at the unopened folder in his hand.

"You said a muggle organization?" Harry asked. Kingsley nodded. "So we would live in the muggle world for six months?"

"Yes, that would be required."

Ron made a face, not sure he liked the idea. Harry however was tempted to hear more. His fan club didn't exist in the muggle world. He could go home at night at not have to check for crazy fans hiding out in his room wanting an autograph. A six month break from the hero worship made this mission extremely appealing.

Ron spoke up first. "Well I'm in if you two are. I could use a six month break from my family."

"Ron, that's a horrible reason to accept such an important mission!"

"It is?" Harry said. "Because I was thinking I could use a six month break from all the hero-worshiping."

"Harry! Both of you should be taking this seriously."

"I am. I _seriously_ want a vacation from my mum and her obsession with me working in the Ministry." Ron stared at the girl. "Come on, Hermione, you can't tell my you're not interested? A spy mission sounds brilliant. And wouldn't you like to get away from my mum for a few months and all her not so subtle hints about marriage and babies."

Hermione tried to keep a stoic face but Harry could see the interest in her eyes. He couldn't resit teasing her.

"Mrs. Weasley wants more grand kids already? You're slacking Hermione, time to get working on that."

Hermione scowled deeply at her friends, who smiled wickedly. She rolled her eyes. "Alright fine. I admit that an undercover mission would be a great challenge and give us some wonderful experience."

"And you don't want mum hounding you about marriage."

Hermione leveled a glare on her boyfriend. "I suppose if these two are going to accept, I should as well. You know how thick-skilled they can be. We will have time to get our affairs in order before leaving, correct? We can't just pack up and leave today."

"You will have plenty of time to get yourself situated and say goodbye to your families," Kingsley assured. "Mr. Potter, you may now open that folder."

Harry did and passed it to Hermione, who was sitting in the middle of the three. While they looked over the documents, Kingsley explained what was written.

"As you know, the muggles have also ended their own war about five years ago. In the wake of that war an organization was built called the Preventers. They are, in essence, a peacekeeping organization designed to maintain the peace won after the wars and prevent it from happening again."

"I've heard of the Preventers from my parents," Hermione said. "They approve of them greatly."

"It is a good organization and, as wizards, we have no problem with them."

"Then why do you want us to infiltrate them?"

"They are extremely good at what they do. We have received intelligence that they are starting to find signs, discrepancies and other such things, in certain affairs. Affairs such as giant attacks that were covered up with the story of tornadoes or the sightings of witches and wizards dueling in the sky being nothing more than large birds flying across the Northern Lights."

"They're compiling evidence that magic is real."

"Yes. As of now, they have enough information to form a theory or suspicion. I do not believe they have yet come to magic as the conclusion but with all the evidence they currently have, it is very possible that they will."

"So what do you want us to do?"

"Infiltrate them. I want you to get inside and do what you must to get to the top. We have no connections in the organization, as it's so new, so you'll have to start at the bottom. Once you have gathered the information and determined who is in charge of it, I will send in a team of Unspeakables who have been specially trained to maintain the secrecy of world. They will destroy any evidence the muggles have and charm the memories of all involved."

"Yeah, sure, that'll be easy to do," Ron muttered. "No wonder you said it'll take us six months or more."

"This is a pretty big mission," Harry said. "Why are you choosing us for it?"

"The Preventers are an extremely exclusive organization. Anyone can apply and every application is accepted, however once you are accepted you are put through some rather extreme testing and courses. Out of the thousands who apply, barely two hundred newcomers are initiated a year."

"Two hundred?" Hermione exclaimed. "But how can they run such a huge organization while accepting so few people?"

"It is because those that do make it in are the best of the best; the elites of the muggle world. Currently, over eighty-five percent of the new recruits are aged between nineteen and twenty-five. Out of my recruits, you three are the best available in that age range. And also with your experience in the war, I believe that will give you an edge over the other recruits joining."

"The Preventers are a completely muggle organization," Hermione said. "Harry and I will be fine but Ron…" She glanced at the redhead who shrugged.

"I don't know anything about muggles."

"I should also point out that I've never used a computer before," Harry added.

Kingsley nodded. "The next recruiting period is not for three months. The three of you will receive intensive courses to prepare you for not only the skills you'll need for this mission but also how to live life as a muggle in the muggle world."

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other and then turned to Ron. He was scowling slightly. "Those classes are meant for me, aren't they?"

Kingsley smiled. "Mostly. But all three of you must be extremely competent with computers and learn the workings of the muggle military and also have an understanding of the wars that just ended. These courses have been designed specifically for those purposes.

"Now, there is one more catch that I must inform you of. All three of you will be entering into different branches of the organization."

"You're splitting us up?"

"We're stronger as a team."

"We're _strongest_ as a team."

Kingsley held his hand up for silence. "I realize that. But the Preventers are notorious for being very suspicious people. It would be easy to come up with a story as to why the three of you were joining together at the same time and how you all knew each other, however, if one of you were to fall under suspicion all of you would as well and that would be the end of the mission. By splitting you up, we have a greater chance of one of you succeeding."

"When we're together we get one chance as a group but if we're apart, we have three chances as individuals," Harry said and the Minister nodded.

"We will provide you with means to keep in contact with each other but you must act as though you have never met before."

"What sections are you putting us in?"

"Mr. Potter, you will be in the combat area. Those who join there are more like to become soldiers and leaders. They do a lot of field work. Given your skills and history, I thought this was the best place for you."

Harry nodded.

"Mr. Weasley, you will be in the intelligence department. Your skills lie in strategy."

"You're giving me a desk job?!"

"Harry is a more competent combatant and does not posses your level of skill when developing strategy."

Ron scowled in annoyance. "Fine. Desk job it is. Wait a minute!" Ron sat up straighter again. "Why don't we just use our contacts within the muggle world to stop this? You know, contact their Minister and tell him what's going on and have him tell them to stop."

"For one, Mr. Weasley, their current Minister is a woman. For two, the Preventers are a new group that was created by the heroes of their war and they have the ear of almost every leading nation the muggles have to offer. They also work closely with the colonies and there are no wizards in the colonies. We simply have no control of agents that can even get near the Preventers. Hence this elaborate scheme."

Ron sat back with a thoughtful face, nodding slightly to himself. He honestly had no idea about muggle workings or politics and he'd only heard of the colonies in passing. He was going to have a lot to study if he wanted to blend in with this world.

"And what is my assignment, Minister?" Hermione asked as Ron lapsed into thought.

"Ms. Granger, we're going to be taking a slight risk with you."

Ron and Harry sat up straighter at his words while Hermione raised an eyebrow in question. "A risk?" she repeated.

"You have been training in the medical field, correct?"

"Yes sir, since the war ended. I figured if the three of us were going to become Aurors, at least one of us had better have some training in the medical field, especially with these two's track record."

"Hey, you get hurt too!" Ron defended.

"Not nearly as much as the two of you."

"Harry's the worst."

"That's not my fault!"

Kingsley smiled at the three. "I will miss your bickering while you're on this mission." The trio rolled their eyes at him. "Ms. Granger, because of this training we are going to put you in the medical branch of the Preventers. There is a doctor there, Sally Po, who is in charge of all the medical aspects of the organization that is currently looking for an assistant." He smiled. "It shouldn't be too hard for you to wow them with your skills."

Hermione nodded. "But won't this woman have found an assistant before I even get there?"

"That is why we would like you to start now."

"Now?" Ron and Harry double toned.

"Ms. Granger already has knowledge of the computer systems and the muggle world. She will not need the same preparations as the two of you."

"I know very little about their wars," Hermione admitted.

"I have complete confidence you will be able to study and memorize everything you need to know within the week."

Hermione nodded. "Very well. I can handle it."

"No," Harry interrupted firmly. "I don't like this. I don't want her going alone."

"Mr. Potter—"

"She's my responsibility. So is Ron."

"Harry, I'd be on my own even if we went at the same time—"

"But I would be able to find and keep track of you. I would be close enough to you to help if you needed it. If you go now, I can't do any of that."

"We will have a system in place that will allow for communication and emergency contact," Kingsley assured.

"I don't want her going alone."

"Harry, I'll be fine. I know how to defend myself."

"I just—"

Hermione took his hand and squeezed. "I will be fine, Harry. I'll keep in constant contact and…" she paused and glanced and Kingsley before leaning forward to whisper in Harry's ear. "We still have the you-know-whats from the war so even if their method of communication fails, we'll still have ours."

Harry still didn't look convinced but Hermione smiled reassuringly. "What's this protective act? Who was it that saved your butt at Godrics Hollow? And who was with you when we rode that dragon out of Gringots? And—"

"I get the point," Harry smiled in exasperation. "All right, 'Mione, I'll stop complaining. But you're to keep in constant contact. And I reserve the right to say screw the mission and come running in after you if I do not hear from you at least once every three days."

"Me too," Ron butted in. "I am reserving that right as well."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, the way you two talk, you'd think I was incapable of caring for myself."

"Ms. Granger, I would like you to be ready to leave in a week. Is that plausible?"

"Yes Minister. It will not be a problem."

"Good."

"What are our codenames?" Ron asked.

"I prefer to keep that information a secret. If you three are asked of each other, I don't want there to be any indications that you know one another."

"You want us to go in completely blind?"

"Yes. Though the three of you will be working on the same mission, you will be, basically, working alone. I don't want you to risk knowing each other, even if it is just by name."

Harry shrugged and took the folder from Hermione, standing up. "Very well, Minister. We accepted this mission so we'll carry it out. When you're ready to brief us on our individual missions, please let us know."

Ron and Hermione stood and Kingsley followed. "I will be contacting you two within the week, Ms. Granger, sooner than that. Until then you are all excused from your classes to prepare for this mission. That is all."

They saluted the Minister and left his office. Ron plucked the folder from Harry's hands and looked at it. "So we're actually going in blind?"

"For now," Harry confirmed. "If we need to disobey orders and share information with each other though, I won't complain." He turned to Hermione. "You sure you're going to be all right going in alone?"

"Of course." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you two, sometimes you can be insufferable."

They each grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Insufferable know-it-alls?"

"Don't you dare go there."

The boys laughed as the three apparated home to begin preparing for their long mission.

**A/N: So there's chapter one, hope you liked it. Let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews!**

**This chapter is rather short and Hermione based. Normally I don't like writing Hermione or Ron but I enjoyed writing this chapter.**

**For those that remember this story, this chapter is pretty much the same. A few corrections here and there but that's it.**

**Chapter Two: Accepted Part One**

Hermione rushed down the hall, clutching a stack of folders to her chest. She was so behind schedule right now that it wasn't even funny! Her communication with Ron and Harry had gone longer than she had expected because Ron had had questions about the colonies and how muggles had created them. Though Hermione was grateful that Ron was taking the job so seriously, it had put her behind schedule and today was the day Sally Po would be officially choosing her new assistant. Hermione had been competing against some very bright candidates who were extremely competent in their fields. If Hermione wasn't chosen today, her chances at this mission were over and it would be up to Ron and Harry when they arrived.

When she dashed into the meeting room, everyone was already present. Hermione gasped for breath and blushed brightly as Sally raised an eyebrow at her. She whispered a quick sorry and found a seat in the back.

"Ms. Gardner," Sally called.

Hermione shot to her feet, recognizing her codename instantly. For the past two and a half weeks she had been known as Jean Gardner and been called by this name so often that she was now used to it.

"Yes ma'am, Doctor Po?"

"Why are you late?"

"I'm so sorry, Doctor. I didn't realize how late it was and I tried to get here as fast as I could—"

"Okay, okay, take a breath girl. But all of the assignments have been passed out."

Hermione's eyes widened. Today everyone was given an assignment and whoever did the best on their project would get the assistant's position.

"I don't believe I have anything left for you…" Sally began shuffling through her papers. "It's a shame too, you showed promise."

"Is there anything I can do instead?" Hermione asked in a desperate tone. "I don't care what it is, I don't want to give up without even trying!" She couldn't fail now, if she did then the entire mission would fall onto Harry and Ron's shoulders and they wouldn't be ready to even take the entrance tests for another two and half months. Kingsley had known it would be a risk sending Hermione in like this but Hermione had been so sure she could do it.

A nurse suddenly hurried into the room and swept past the students, straight to Doctor Po. She whispered something into the woman's ear and Sally scowled deeply.

"That little—can't they keep out of trouble for a day? Fine I'll be—" Sally cut herself off as she spotted Hermione still staring at her hopefully. "Ms. Gardner, it would seem today is your lucky day. I do have one last assignment to hand out."

Hermione sighed in relief and hurried up to the platform. Doctor Po dismissed all the other students to their tasks and Hermione waited patiently for hers. Whatever it was, she was positive she could handle it. She wasn't the brightest witch of her age for nothing.

"All right Ms. Gardner, I have just been informed that a regular patient of mine was bitten by a potentially poisonous snake. He needs a shot of the antidote, just in case. Your assignment is to give him this shot within an hour."

Hermione blinked. "That's all?"

"That's all. I warn you, Ms. Gardner, don't take this lightly."

Hermione nodded seriously. "Yes ma'am. Where will I find the patient?"

"My nurse will take you."

Hermione saluted quickly before following the nurse from the room. The nurse summoned the elevator and pressed the thirtieth floor. A slot appeared and the nurse swiped her security card and pressed in a code. Hermione had never been on the thirtieth floor before. From floor twenty-five and up, you needed special clearance. The higher the floor, the higher the clearance required to access it. Nurses and doctors were allowed clearance on all floors and this was another reason why Hermione needed to succeed. She would have free access to the building which would probably come in handy when Ron and Harry arrived.

"This patient is one of Doctor Po's closest friends," the nurse suddenly spoke, "so you had better watch yourself. He may seem nice but he's a wicked trickster."

"I'll do my best."

"That may not be good enough, when this guy's concerned."

They didn't say anything more and exited the elevator in silence. The nurse led Hermione down the hall and stopped outside an exam room. "The antidote is all ready to go in the room. If you need anything, just holler."

"Thank you."

The nurse swiped her card and opened the door. After Hermione was inside, she made sure to lock it again. Hermione frowned over her shoulder. Who was she expected to treat that was important enough to have such good security? She looked around the room and didn't see anyone.

"Hello?" Hermione called. "Is there anyone here?"

She paused as the back of neck tingled. Hermione placed a hand on her skin and suddenly looked up. A boy with violet eyes and a long braid was staring down at her from the ceiling. Hermione couldn't help it, she was so shocked to see him that she screamed and jumped back into the door. The boy dropped from the ceiling and grinned.

"Hey, sorry about that, I thought it was Sally who was coming in. I just wanted to play a trick on her."

Hermione took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. She straightened up and held out her hand. "My name is Jean Gardner. Doctor Po sent me to take care of you."

"What? She can't even come herself?" the boy whined. He sighed and took Hermione's hand. "Well nice to meet ya, Jean. Duo Maxwell, I may run and hide but I never lie."

Hermione smiled as she couldn't believe her luck. This was one of the top members of the organization and she was being asked to treat him. This was an excellent time to make friends in high places.

"It's nice to meet you. So you were bitten by a snake?"

Duo scowled as he jumped up on a bed. Hermione removed her stethoscope and listened to Duo's heart. "Yeah, damn thing came out of nowhere. I was just walking through the woods and then BAM. The little thing just bit me! I wasn't even buggin it!"

"You probably disturbed its nest without realizing it and it bit you because it was afraid." She stepped away. "You're heart's beating slightly faster than normal but it's nothing to worry about."

"I've always had a fast heart rate."

"Well then we won't worry. I'll just give you the antidote to be on the safe side and you'll be all ready to go."

"Sweet. Then pass me this pill so I can pop it and be gone from this depressing place."

"Oh it's not a pill, Mr. Maxwell. It's a shot." Hermione was readying the needle and so missed the look of horror that flashed over Duo's face before he was shaking his head.

"No, no, no…"

Hermione looked up. "Is something wrong?"

"Sorry friend, but I don't do shots."

Hermione paused. This must have been what Doctor Po meant by her patient being trouble. "Why not?"

"I don't like needles. At all."

Hermione placed the needle down and faced him. "Well I'm afraid I can't give this to you without using one."

"Can't you just inject it into a sugar pill or something and I'll take it like that?"

She smiled. "I'm afraid it doesn't work that way, Mr. Maxwell."

"It's Duo. Then forget it. We don't even know if the snake was poisonous, so I really see no reason to torture me without some definite proof."

"I'm hardly going to torture you. It's a tiny prick and that's all. You don't even have to watch."

Duo shook his head. "Not gonna happen."

The door opened and the two turned as a boy walked in. He appeared to the same age as Duo, who was maybe a year or two older than Hermione. His hair was messy and black and reminded Hermione of Harry for a moment. His ice blue eyes took the room in with a single sweep as he kicked the door closed.

"Can I help you?" Hermione asked.

"Hee-chan!" Duo cheered. "Where have you been? You drop me off here and vanish, how cold."

Heero held up a cage. "I retrieved the snake."

Hermione's eyes lit up in curiosity and she stepped forward to peer into the cage. "A green mamba. They're poisonous all right, but the venom's not deadly. It just paralyzes."

"Well if that's all it does, then forget the shot. I'll just stick it out until it's gone from my system."

"That can be very dangerous." Hermione frowned. "Especially with the type of job you currently have. It would be smarter to just take the antivenin."

"She is correct," Heero stated. He placed the snake cage on the floor. "You will receive the shot."

"You'll have to shoot me first."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. It's a tiny prick that doesn't hurt. I'll count to five and it'll be all over."

"Jeeze, you deaf or something, Jean? I've already said no a thousands times."

Hermione frowned. Duo reminded her a lot of Ron when he had to face spiders. Maybe she could trick this boy the same way she did him. "What are you so afraid of?" she suddenly faked gasped and placed a hand over her mouth. "Oh my goodness! You weren't… _tortured_ with needles were you?"

"What? No—"

"Oh, then you must have suffered a trauma when you were a child. That explains why you're so afraid."

"No! Well, yes I did, but—hey, I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid of anything! I fought in both the wars and came out alive."

Hermione placed her hands on her hips. "Oh, I see then. So there's no reason for you to be afraid. You're just a coward."

"A _what_?" Duo nearly screeched. "Did you not just hear me say I was in both wars? I've done shit that you can't even—"

"Prove it." Hermione stepped forward with the needle and a challenging face. "If you're as brave as you say, take the shot like a _real _man."

Duo growled. "You think I can't?" he rolled up his sleeve. "Get over here and do it, you annoying twit. I'm no coward."

Hermione stepped forward and in one swift movement had cleaned a spot on Duo's arm and stuck the needle into the skin. She counted to five and pulled away, placing a band aid on the hole.

"There! You see? Try calling me a coward now!"

Hermione smiled. "You've proven me wrong. I apologize."

"That's right you—" Duo paused and frowned. "Hey! You _tricked_ me! _You_ tricked _me_!"

"That was impressive," Heero said.

Hermione turned to him. "I have a friend back home who has a phobia of spiders. This is how we always get him to do anything. I figured I would try it out on Duo and see if he would fall for it. There's nothing a man hates more than being called a coward."

The door opened once again and Sally Po entered with another nurse. Duo glared at her and stormed out, rubbing his arm where he had gotten the shot. Sally stared after him in surprise.

"You're assistant is competent." Heero left the room after making that statement and Sally gawked after him.

"That's an impressive compliment from Heero." She turned to Hermione. "I honestly didn't think you would be able to do this without help, Jean. Duo's one of my worst patience's. I'm very impressed."

Hermione beamed. "Thank you ma'am."

"Well that was all for today. You may return home and I will announce my decision tomorrow."

"Of course. Thank you for everything, Doctor Po."

Hermione left with the satisfied smile. She had this job in the bag.

* * *

The next day, Hermione entered the meeting room and this time she wasn't late. However when she arrived, the place was completely empty. She wasn't early enough to be the first one there and the tables that were usually set up had been stacked in the corner. Hermione frowned. She was positive this was where they were meeting. Without having a better idea, Hermione grabbed herself and chair and sat to wait. She didn't have to wait long before Sally Po and another woman entered the meeting room. Sally looked very pleased while the second woman stared at her calculatingly. Hermione stood quickly.

"Doctor Po." She shook hands with her. "I'm sorry, but did the time get changed? I had expected the other applicants to be here."

"Not at all, Ms. Gardner. I sent them home already."

"Home?" Hermione fought to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"Yes. I've been very impressed with your skills, Ms. Gardener. You have good skills, a steady hand, and a clear head under pressure. Yesterday when you managed to get Duo –Duo of all people—his shot, I was impressed with your bedside manner. Originally I had planned on hiring someone with more experience than you, but I think you've proven you're worth the risk. If you would like the job, I would be honored to have you hired on as my assistant."

Hermione beamed, her smile lighting up her eyes. "It would be my pleasure."

"Excellent. Then allow me to introduce Lady Une, head of the Preventers."

Hermione couldn't believe her luck. She held out her hand and shook it with Une's. "It's an honor ma'am.'

"You as well, Ms. Gardner. Anyone hired by the Preventers has to go through a background check and get blood placed on file."

"Didn't I already do that when I first applied?"

"Yes but this time I will be taking care of it personally. If you are to work with Sally you will be exposed to confidential and classified information and personal. I want to make sure you are able to handle that and that you are trustworthy."

Hermione nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"Very well, if you'll come with me, Gardner, we'll take care of this business now. Sally is eager for her assistant to be cleared."

The entire process took over two hours to complete. Hermione was confident that with the preparations done ahead of time by the Ministry of Magic there would be no trouble and she was correct. After all the tests, Jean Gardner was officially sworn into the Preventers agency and given the title of Doctor with level seven clearance. Hermione couldn't help but smile with absolute pride; level ten was the highest clearance available and she was sure if she played her cards right she would soon be trusted enough to have even that.

At the rate she was going, she wouldn't need Harry and Ron. She'd have this mission wrapped up and completed before they even arrived.

**A/N: So the code name "Jean" is Hermione's mother's name. Gardner is made up.**

**For those of you who remember this story, the last time I had it up I had a plot line that involved Harry finding out one of the G-boys was his half-brother. I don't know if I'm going to keep that.**

**Do you guys want to see it? I'm curious for opinions. In the original plot line it was Trowa who was his brother. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm really quite poor with OCs but I still insist on writing them because if I don't, I'll never learn how to use/write them properly. That being said, he's part two with Harry and an OC.**

**Thank you as well for all the reviews. **

**Chapter Three: Accepted Part Two**

Harry took a long drink from his canteen and wiped the sweat from his brow. He sighed deeply and looked around the track he was currently testing on. After only two months of classes, the Ministry experts had determined that he knew enough about computers and muggle military ways to be allowed to begin his mission ahead of schedule. So Harry had packed up, wished Ron luck with the rest of his training, and left. The Preventers had a special entrance exam once a month where people with glowing recommendations could try out in private and, thanks to some well forged notes, Harry was one of those people. Ron was still scheduled to join next month as originally planned.

As Harry looked around, he noticed that most of his fellow applicants were on the ground gasping for breath by now. Their teachers were a young man named Heero Yuy and his Chinese friend, Wufei Chang. Harry doubted that any of the other applicants realized just who these two were but Harry was aware from the reports Kingsley provided them with that these two had been key players in the war and Gundam pilots. He was surprised that they would be wasting their time weeding out new recruits but kept his curiosity in check.

After exactly five minutes Heero blew his whistle and everyone groaned in disappointment. Harry merely stood and retook his spot. After the last seven months of being trained as an Auror these drills were easy for him. Harry was sure that he had caught the two former pilots' eye as he was the only one who acted like he wanted to be here. The other teens around him were all pampered rich kids who had gotten in over their heads.

After everyone had lined up, Heero addressed them in a cold, clipped manner. "You're running times have been recorded and placed on file. The last task for today is an obstacle course." He pointed at one set up in the distance. "You will complete it as quickly as possible. Begin."

Everyone was caught off guard at the sudden order but Harry and a couple others recovered quickly enough. Since this was their last task and it was timed, Harry didn't hold back. He pushed his tired body as fast as it could go and completed the course before everyone else. Another recruit finished nine seconds after him and collapsed next to Harry, breathing hard. Once he caught his breath, he grinned.

"Damn, you're good."

"Thanks. I come from a semi-military background. You're pretty impressive too."

"I come from a fully military background. It was either join the Preventers or the navy. I chose the Preventers, get sea sick too easy. Anyway, the name's Iien Kron, the third."

"James Porter."

"Good to meet ya, James." Iien was probably a year or so older than Harry. He was a tall, skinny man with dark red brown hair and bright blue eyes. He had a laid back, easy going nature that put Harry at ease. "So you forced here too?"

"Not really. I had nowhere else to go and decided to join. I was lucky to get in this early, actually. It took a lot of phone calls and letters from teachers to be able to apply now instead of in a month with the public."

"Yeah, it's helpful to have friends in high places, I suppose."

The final applicant collapsed at the end of the course and Heero and Wufei stepped up to them. Harry stood quickly and waited at attention. Iien followed suit, mostly just wanting to look better than the other winded guys around them who remained panting on the ground. Wufei seemed impressed but Heero's face was completely blank.

"Porter, James."

"Yes sir."

"You finished the course in 4 minutes 5 seconds. The record for this course is 3 minutes 55 seconds that I myself set. Good work."

Iien discreetly shot Harry a grin and Harry felt himself straighten slightly in pride.

"Thank you, sir."

Heero turned to Iien. "Kron Iien."

"Yes sir."

"You're score was 4 minutes 14 seconds. Adequate."

Harry shrugged at Iien who looked as though he had heard that word many times in his life.

"Both of you are the only applicants worth accepting and training, however I have been informed that I must chose at least five."

Harry and Iien glanced at each other, both trying not to smile. It was obvious from Heero's scowl that he felt he was picking the least of the evils.

"You are both dismissed. Agent Chang will show you to where you need to be." He raised his voice slightly and turned to the panting recruits. "The rest of you, follow me. I'm not finished with you yet."

Iien couldn't stop his snicker at the groans and Harry gestured him towards Agent Chang. He saluted properly. "Agent Chang, sir." Iien quickly copied his actions.

"Follow me." The Chinese man turned on his heel and walked quickly towards the recruit's barracks. "You have both shown promise in today's test, however that does not mean you have been accepted. You still need to complete a written exam to determine your intelligence."

"Yes sir," they chimed.

"You will have a one hour period of time to eat and relax before I return to administer the test. The mess hall is there, the bathrooms are next to it. You are dismissed."

He left the two with a final salute. Harry and Iien both sighed in relief and exchanged grins. They walked to the mess hall together, Iien resting a friendly hand on Harry's shoulder.

"So James, you seem to have this military life down. Were you raised around it?"

"No, I was part of a rebel group when the war was in full swing. I learned just about everything I know from them."

"Wow? No joke? Where's your family, man?"

"I'm an orphan. All my family died when I was a year old."

"Ouch, harsh."

"What about you? You said your parents were military?"

"Yup. Both my mom and dad. Well, my mom's not anymore. She quit when she got pregnant with me."

"Why'd she have to quit for that?"

"Well she was just lowly corporal at the time and my father was her lieutenant and if you don't know already that's a huge scandal. So to protect my father's reputation she retired early and by the time I was born and the story came out, my dad was already a General so no one said anything."

"Wow. That's some story."

"Sorry, didn't mean to babble." They stopped at the mess hall, which was nearly full with recruits, and joined the line waiting to be served. "I kinda start to ramble when no one interrupts me."

"That's okay, I didn't mind." Harry shot him a teasing grin. "It's nice to know I'm not the only one with a sob story." Iien shoved him playfully and laughed.

The two got their food and turned to try and find somewhere to eat. All the tables were filled with actual recruits, not wanna-bees like them. Harry gestured to a table near the back that only had a couple people sitting at it and the two sat at the far end, away from the others. As soon as they sat down, all eyes turned to them and the chatter slowly died away. Harry barely managed to suppress a sigh; he had apparently picked a bad place to sit.

The three recruits at the far end of the table were large and sported the same buzz cuts. The Preventers, though run in a very militaristic way, was not the same as the army. They did not require everyone to wear the same uniform or have the same haircut. Small pins on the collar of your shirt told of your rank and so long as you looked professional, no one bothered you about your dress code. Recruits tended to wear the same thing for practically sake. The recruits near them now either didn't get that memo or didn't care. They all had buzzed haircuts and wore green jumpsuits. On closer inspection, they were actually triplets. That was another difference between Preventers and military; the Preventers didn't split up siblings.

One of the buzzed cut guys leaned over and pointed his fork at him. "Hey, those seats are taken."

"By who?" Iien asked. Harry just sighed, rubbing his head. This was definitely going to turn into a fight, he could feel it.

"None of your business, wanna-be. Just beat it."

"Come on, Iien. I don't want a fight."

"Neither do I but I'll take on one if these buzzed idiots think they can boss us around."

"We've been here for six months!" one of the brothers said. "You think you can take us on?"

Iien looked them up and down. "Without breaking a sweat."

"Iien, please don't." Harry's pleas went ignored as the three brothers stood up, clenching their fists. Iien stood quickly as well. Harry felt the need to try one last time. "Come on, Iien, it's just a seat. We'll find somewhere else to eat."

Iien jerked his arm away and glared at Harry. The brothers laughed. "You should listen to your mousy friend. He knows his place."

Harry bristled. "I'm not mousy…"

"I don't need his help to take you dumb asses on."

Iien dove forward before the other guys could make the first move and swung a punch at the nearest brother. Harry groaned as the mess hall occupants came to their feet and started cheering on the fight. He watched as Iien and one of the brothers started rolling on the floor and trading punches.

"Seriously?" Harry yelled. "You're fighting over a spot to sit? What are you guys, twelve?"

Again, he was ignored. The two brothers Iien hadn't knocked down grabbed his arms and pinned them behind his back. The third brother jumped to his feet and began punching Iien in the stomach. Harry groaned and shook his head. No matter what the reason, he couldn't just sit here and watch. With one fluid movement Harry stepped forward, grabbed the brother doing the punching, turned him around, and slammed a fist into his jaw. The boy was sent flying to the ground and Harry turned his attention to the other two.

"Let's go, assholes."

They glared and dropped Iien to rush Harry. Harry sighed to himself as he dodged the attacks. The two might as well have been coming at him in slow motion with how easy they were to dodge. Harry didn't fight back, waiting for them to tire themselves out and hopefully ending this somewhat peacefully. Unfortunately, Harry didn't count on Iien recovering so quickly. The other teen jumped to his feet and grabbed one of the brothers, clocking him around the jaw. Harry stared at him with a slightly annoyed face.

Iien glared at him. "Why are you looking at me like that? He's the one trying to beat us up!"

"You're the one that started all this!"

They didn't argue further as two brothers each dove at them. Harry kneed the guy in the stomach and stepped away, hoping that would be enough to get him to stay down. Iien punched his brother in the jaw, busting his knuckle open but officially knocking the guy out cold. Iien cursed slightly as he rubbed his abused hand.

"Are we done now? Or do you want to pick a fight with the lunch lady next?"

Iien glared at him but Harry didn't back down. This had been one of the stupidest fights he'd ever been in.

"I think I misjudged you, James."

"Feeling's mutual."

A loud whistle blowing interrupted him and sent everyone scrambling to form neat lines and stand at attention. Harry and Iien did the same as the three brothers tried to scramble to their feet. Agent Chang, Agent Yuy, and a third instructor Harry didn't know were standing in the doorway. The instructor was the one who blew the whistle and he let it fall to his chest as he stalked into the hall. He took in the scene with a sharp glance before addressing the room at large.

"What is going on here?"

No one answered and Harry resigned himself to speak. "There was a small scuffle, sir."

"Hardly looks like a scuffle to me. Looks more like a full blown fight."

"Yes sir."

"Who started it?"

Iien glanced at Harry but he kept his mouth firmly shut. Harry had never tattled on anyone in his life and he wasn't about to start now.

"Well since no one seems to want to tell me, perhaps I should punish everyone. How does a hundred laps around the track sound?" The room groaned and the instructor glared at them all.

"I threw the first punch, sir," Iien announced. "Those buzz-cut guys over there provoked me."

"They provoked you, did they?"

"Instructor Dorian." Agent Chang stepped forward. "As of now, these two are not official Preventers and are under our watch. We will take care of them, you may deal with your men."

Instructor Dorian didn't look happy at the arrangement but didn't argue. Harry and Iien followed Wufei and Heero out the door while the instructor could be heard yelling at his men. Wufei rounded on them as soon as they were alone.

"Do not think that because you had adequate physical prowess that means you may act like immature children! What were you thinking?"

Harry was cursing in his head. This was not the way to start out a mission. He had been doing so well up until Iien had pulled that little stunt. Now any credibility he had started to build up was completely shot. It was going to be hard getting them to forget about this instance and move on.

"I was defending myself," Iien stated boldly. Harry glanced at him and wondered why the guy didn't just shut up. He was already up to his eyeballs in trouble.

"Porter."

Harry stood at attention when Heero spoke. "Yes sir."

"What was your reason for fighting?"

"It was three on one. I didn't think it was fair."

"And what did you see as the reason for the fight itself?"

"Sir?"

"Why was everyone fighting?"

Harry shifted just slightly. He didn't want to tell on his friend but he couldn't just ignore the question. "It was over… seating arrangements, sir."

Wufei raised an eyebrow. "Is that true, Kron?"

"No sir."

Harry frowned and cast a look at Iien but didn't say anything.

"What was your reason, then?"

"Status, sir. We both applied with the 'rich kids' or the spoiled brats, sir. That's how everyone would see us, regardless of whether we are or not. By backing down from those three we would be confirming that we had no spine and could be pushed around. By standing up to them, I made sure everyone knew that I wasn't going to be bullied. I may be rich but I'm here on my own merit, not because of my money. That is why I fought."

Harry stared at him in shock. "But… but that doesn't make any sense! Why not just walk away and prove that in your classes or during training? Why start a fight over something so stupid?"

Iien shot him a deadpanned look. "Really James? Do you really not get what that fight was about?"

"He doesn't appear to," Wufei's voice was slightly amused and annoyed. "Enlighten him."

"James, they're gonna see us as special treatment cases because we didn't sign up at the normal time and we got in faster because we know people in high places. I don't know how it is with you, but that's how it is with me. We gotta work extra hard to prove we're worth our stuff and if that means knocking a few thick skulls around, then fine! Get it? I wasn't fighting over the seat, I was fighting because they thought they could push the rich kid around and I just proved they couldn't."

Harry stared at him in sudden understanding. It _was_ about status. Harry had never had to worry about it during Auror training because he had already proved himself by defeating Voldemort. Everyone knew he was worth his stuff. Here, he didn't have the same credentials. He was at the bottom and would have to work his way up.

Harry nodded. "I owe you an apology. I thought you were just being a hothead but I was wrong. You had a reason for what you did. I'm sorry."

Iien seemed a little taken back by the apology. "Hey, it's not a big deal, James. We only just met so how could you be expected to know that I'm such an upstanding guy?" He grinned and held his hand out. "We good?"

"Yes. Very." Harry shook his hand firmly.

"Fine. But reason or not, fighting with your peers is forbidden. Both of you go run fifteen laps."

Harry and Iien shrugged before running off without question. Wufei watched them go and turned to Heero.

"What do you think?"

"Porter is impressive physically. He has been taught how to fight. Kron is also strong but nowhere near Porter's level."

"Kron understands people fairly well while Porter appears to be rather clueless on the topic. I think we should keep them paired up. They would work well together."

"I will recommend it to their teachers."

**A/N: Harry played sports in school, fought in a war, and went through Auror training. As far as I'm concerned, he's very physically fit and can kick ass at obstacle courses and the like.**

**Thank you to everyone who gave their opinion on Trowa being Harry's brother. Most people said yes, do it, the rest said they were fine either way, and I think only one or two people said no. I've decided to try and work it in. It shouldn't be too hard, since the original plan included it. Thank you all!**

**And for those that also read A Fate Worse Than Death, I'm still working! I've gotten it planned out to end in two chapters, so look forward to that in the next couple weeks or so.**

**Happy Valentines Day everyone!**


	4. Chapter 4

**So even though I sat down to work on A Fate Worse Than Death...I ended up working on this story instead. Lol. I believe everything in this chapter is the same as the first time around.**

**It's the last "Accepted" chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter Four: Accepted Part Three**

Ron sat at the end of a train, trying to look casual. He had spent the last three months completely immersed in muggle life and culture. The entire experience had been both horrific and fascinating for him. He couldn't believe some of the contraptions muggles came up with to get around or use in everyday life. Things like cell phones and computers were amazing. How such a tiny metal case could store and access nearly all the information in the muggle world blew his mind.

As the train rolled along, Ron couldn't help but remember the first time he'd been taught to use a computer. Even he had to smile at how clueless he had been.

_Flashback_

Ron stared at the small bottle of food in his hand as he attempted to walk down a muggle street casually. His "immersion training" from the Ministry meant he lived in the muggle world now. He was allowed to go home on the weekends to see his family but that was it. His professor was with him nearly twenty-four seven, constantly teaching him about the muggle world and quizzing him on everything from what a DVD was to who started the muggle wars.

Today, Ron's professor had informed him that they would be starting to learn how to operate a computer. He said that they needed to nail down the basics quickly; learning to use a mouse, learning to type, and learning e-mail, one of the most common forms of muggle communication. Ron had every intention of taking the lesson seriously. After all, once he joined the Preventers he would be expected to use a computer more competently than most muggles.

So to prove his dedication, Ron had ventured out into muggle London on his own. He managed to find his way to a pet store and purchase mouse food using muggle currency. The woman at the counter hadn't given him a second glance as Ron handed his money over to her confidently. His professor had taught him this was a good thing; when you did something right, no one cared, it was when you messed up that people stared at you.

Ron returned to his apartment and flawlessly punched his pass code to be allowed into the building. Even though he lived on the second floor, he still used the elevator to get used to the up and down sensations. He was still a little freaked out by the thing but was confident that the more he rode it, the less disturbing it would be.

As Ron entered his apartment he heard someone moving about the kitchen. He kicked off his shoes and casually entered the small room. Harry was making himself a sandwich, looking perfectly comfortable in his muggles clothes and using a muggle toaster.

He glanced up as Ron entered. "Hey, look at you, looking like a normal muggle."

Ron nodded. "I think I've gotten pretty good at dressing myself."

"Awe, little Ronikiens can dress himself now. I'm so proud of my little boy, being all grown up."

"Shut up. What are you doing here anyways?"

"I need some help with computers too so I'll be studying with you today."

"You don't know how to use one either?"

Harry's toast popped and he picked it out carefully with his fingers. "I know how to use it and play games on it, but that's about it. I don't know how to do anything useful. It's set up in the living room already if you want to check it out."

"Yeah." Ron strode into the living to see that his couch had been moved and a desk with a large box had been added to his home. The box was bulky and had another box with a piece of glass attached to it. Ron peered at the computer curiously.

"It's actually an old model," Harry called from the kitchen. "These are easier to learn on before moving up to the current computers. They give these to primary school kids to learn with until their older."

Ron pulled the mouse food from his pocket. "Where's the mouse?"

"It should be attached to the computer on the pad."

Ron examined the box. A strange tail was connected to the back that ended in an egg shaped… thing. Ron picked it up carefully.

"I don't see the mouse," he called to Harry.

Harry stuck his head out of the kitchen with his sandwich in hand. "What do you mean? You're holding it."

Ron looked at the egg shaped thing. "_This_ is a muggle mouse?"

"Yeah, what'd you expect?"

Ron carefully cupped the mouse in his hand, tuning it over slowly. He ran his hand over the smooth top, frowning. "How am I supposed to feed it?"

Harry stared at him. "What?"

Ron held up the mouse food. "I went out to the pet store today and got some mouse food because Professor Armant said we would be working with a mouse today." Harry blinked dumbly at him and Ron suddenly felt like he'd made a fool of himself. "I mean, I'm sure the Professor has food but I just wanted to do something to prove that I'm going to take this seriously."

Harry fought to keep from laughing. "What do you think the mouse does on a computer, Ron?"

The redhead shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I figured it helped run it somehow? Like you put it in a wheel and it runs to make power like… in those science… books…" Ron trailed off as Harry couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.

_End Flashback_

Harry had enjoyed teasing Ron greatly about all his childish reactions to his training. He claimed he'd never acted so much like Mr. Weasley in his life. A part of Ron was glad that Harry had started the mission ahead of time and that Hermione had never been there to witness his behavior.

The train he was currently riding on was quickly becoming one of his favorite modes of transportation. Flying a broom was still the best and Apparition the most efficient but these trains had merit. It was soothing to sit back and close his eyes and just go. It was a smoother ride than his dad's flying car or the Hogwarts Express and Ron didn't have to pay attention to where they were because the driver announced the stops periodically.

When his stop was called, Ron pushed himself to his feet and got off the train with the other people. The subway was dirty but Ron ignored it and exited to the south. As soon as he was on the street the Preventer headquarters rose in the sky above him. Ron had been stationed in the heart of London and the main base for all Preventers on Earth. The Aurors had told him he had a distinct advantage by being placed here because many of the organizations top members were also stationed here.

Ron entered the building, hiking his backpack up on his shoulder. A sign at the front told him where to go so he didn't have to waste time asking for directions. A lecture hall had been set up for new recruits to gather. The recruits were split into three sections; the soldiers who would do field work, the strategists who would devise defensive and offensive plans, and the medical students who would work both in the field and in the building. Ron made his way to the strategists and sat down in the back. A few people were talking in low murmurs about the room but mostly everyone was keeping to themselves.

Ron crossed his ankles and leaned back. He glanced around, not noting anything in particular. After a moment he closed his eyes and sighed to himself. He understood the reasoning for splitting them up but it sure made things boring. The seminar didn't start for another fifteen minutes.

The chair next to him suddenly scraped against the hard floor and Ron opened his eyes in surprise. A braided teen had plopped down backward in the chair next to him and was glaring at the stage.

"This shit is sooo boring."

Ron half smiled. "I wish I could tell you it gets better, but it doesn't."

"That's not reassuring at all."

"Well I figured if I lie about it you might get mad later when you realize the truth."

"Good point. Better to tell the truth now and brace yourself than being caught unawares."

Another voice suddenly joined the two, sounding annoyed. "Listen to you both. You make it sound as though you are waiting to be tortured or sentenced for some horrible crime."

The blonde who spoke stood before them with his hands on his hips and a slight frown on his face. Ron couldn't help but smile as he was reminded of the many times Hermione had scolded him and Harry.

"Hey Quat, we ready to start yet?"

Ron was surprised. "Are you two running this thing?"

"Unfortunately." The braided teen held his hand out. "Duo Maxwell."

Ron mentally cheered. Duo Maxwell was one of the key players in the Preventers. "Arthur Windborne. It's a pleasure."

"This is Quatre Winner, a good friend of mine. You going to be trying for the strategists?"

"Yeah. Hoping I got some chance."

"Trust me, from what I've seen of this batch, a two year old has a chance."

"Duo!" Quatre scolded while Ron laughed. "That is extremely impolite."

Duo just rolled his eyes and stood. "And we wouldn't want me to be impolite, now would we?"

Quatre scowled deeply in disapproval and Ron was hit with a sudden longing to see Hermione again. He didn't enjoy being away from his girlfriend for so long.

"Hey, if you guys don't mind me asking…" Duo and Quatre turned to him. "But you look about the same age as me. Why are you running things?"

"How old are you?" Duo asked.

"Nineteen. I'll be twenty in a couple months."

"Ha! I'm twenty right now. Quatre here just turned twenty-one."

"But you're still the same age as me, basically. So why are you in charge?"

Duo grinned widely at him. "Well that's because we have _ex-per-ie-nce_."

"Experience?"

"Not experience. _Ex-per-ie-nce_. Means we're smart and damn good at what we do." Duo laughed and stood from his seat, kicking his chair away. "See ya around, Windborne."

"Hopefully."

Duo smirked. "Yeah, hopefully."

After that the seminar proceeded as boringly as expected. After the opening speeches and introductions everyone was split into three groups. The field operatives were lead outside by Duo, who was staring at them all with a wicked gleam in his eye. Ron was suddenly grateful he wasn't part of that group. The medical students were taken to the labs by a tall teen with long bangs that covered his eye. He wasn't dressed like a doctor, so Ron guessed he was just acting as tour guide at the moment. His group stayed where they were with Quatre and a couple of his assistants.

"Okay everyone, in case you've forgotten my name is Quatre Winner. I will be administering the tests to see if you're qualified to join the strategic department of the Preventers. If everyone will please pick a table and make sure no one is next to you, we'll begin."

There was shuffling as people moved to their own tables and settled down. The interns wandered among them, turning on holographic projectors built into the tables. Three dimensional maps appeared of what could have been any mountain range on Earth. Ron studied the picture carefully before looking back to Quatre. He remembered the first time he had seen a holographic map and how he had stood there gawking like an idiot. Harry had laughed so hard he'd fallen to the floor, clutching his sides.

Thankfully, Ron was used to the maps now and didn't stare like an idiot. He waited patiently for Quatre to explain their task.

"I'm uploading a scenario into your maps. Your team is the blue, the enemy is the red. Your goal is to defeat your enemy with as few casualties to your team as possible. You may have as long as you need, this won't be timed. Begin."

Dots appeared on the map and Ron took them in with a swift glance. The enemy was located within the mountain ranges while his team was scattered throughout the forests surrounding the mountains. Stats for his dots and the enemy's were listed to the side and Ron looked them over. It was a basic test. There was one unguarded path that led to the enemy's stronghold from behind that could be used to ambush and overtake them.

Ron snorted. This was supposed to be a test? Duo was right, any two year old could do this. As he lifted his hand to move his dots, Ron suddenly paused. A memory from the war overtook his mind as he stared at the dots. While they had been on the run, before Ron had left Harry and Hermione, they found a Death Eater camp. When Ron returned to his family, he had told the Order where it was and pointed out a way to try and ambush them from behind. He had been so confident then. He knew exactly where to strike to take the camp out. The Order had listened to him but no one knew about the second camp that wasn't that far from the first. The Order had attacked only to be caught in an ambush. Ron's own father had barely escaped with his life.

After that, Ron swore he would never again send anyone out without having all the facts. Nothing was easy and nothing was at it seemed. A small light was lit up next to the map and Ron pressed the button. Three more red dots appeared and Ron frowned. With the new information revealed, the so-called perfect ambush site turned into a trap. He knew that had been too easy. But then how could he get his blue dots to win? The red outnumbered and they were about equal stats wise.

Ron couldn't help but smile slightly. If Harry had been in the group, he would have sent everyone in to attack the reinforcements stationed at the back path to clear the way to the camp. If Ron, Harry, and Hermione had been there together, they would have bypassed all the reinforcements and attacked the camp together single-handed. But the trio was not in the group and based on these stats, Ron didn't think it was worth the risk. He pulled back his blue dots and set out a call for reinforcements.

A few minutes later the test was completed as the last people punched in their results. Ron glanced around and noticed that only half of the recruits had noticed the extra data and spotted the trap. The ones who had noticed too late couldn't change their answers after they'd already put them in and sat with their arms crossed and scowling deeply.

Quatre sat at the front, looking over the answers as they were punched in. He paused and called three names. "Geln, Terrance, Mack, Thomas, and Windborne, Arthur. Will you three please stand up?"

They did so. Terrance was tall guy with long hair that could have been blonde but looked brown because of how dirty it was. His clothes appeared brand new and he kept tugging at the sleeves of his shirt, as though he wasn't used to long sleeves. Thomas was the opposite. He was short and his clothes were old and too big. His hair was messy and he looked terrified at having been made to stand up in front of everyone. Ron couldn't help but see a striking resemblance to what Harry had looked like when he was eleven years old.

"Mr. Geln, you noticed the trap before anyone else and yet you chose to have your team attack anyways. Why?"

Terrance shrugged. "Why not? They're just little dots. It's like a game and sometimes you need to take risks to win."

Ron frowned, finding fault in his answer. Quatre merely nodded and jotted something down before turning to Thomas. "Mr. Mack, you also noticed the trap but focused on attacking one of the reinforcement groups instead of the main targets. Can you explain why?"

Thomas fidgeted as he answered. "Sir, I had a more elaborate attack plan but could only input so much."

"I see. Will you please explain the rest of your strategy then?"

The fidgeting grew worse and Quatre smiled reassuringly. He put down his notebook and folded his hands, giving Thomas his full attention and smiling all the while. Putting the notebook aside seemed to relax Thomas greatly as the boy took a deep breath and answered with a little more confidence.

"I was planning to have the blue team take out the red one by one."

Quatre nodded. "And if the enemy had called for help?"

"They would have been able to capture the supplies and weapons from the enemy base and add them to their arsenal to make them stronger. If that wasn't enough, the blue team could abandon the area and leave traps behind for any reinforcements that came. Once all the enemies had been defeated or captured, they could then ambush the main camp."

"So you prefer a sneak operation as opposed to an open battle?"

"Yes."

"Hmm… interesting." Quatre picked up his notebook again. "Thank you, Mr. Mack. Now, Mr. Windborne."

Ron waited as Thomas practically threw himself back into his chair and tried to vanish into thin air. Quatre was staring at his data before finally looking up questioningly.

"You revealed the trap and chose to pull back and call for reinforcements. Why?"

"Sir the stats on the enemy and on allies were near the same. However stats can lie or be misleading. Even though this is a test and these are just blue and red dots, in reality they represent not game pieces on a board but human lives. I firmly believe that you should never send a human into a fight you are not positive he can win. That is why I chose to fall back and call for help."

"So you took into consideration the human element." Quatre nodded as he wrote something down. "Thank you, Mr. Windborne." The blonde stood up and tucked his notebook under his arm. "That was your first test today. For all those who didn't spot the trap you have received an automatic fail; everyone else passed. You may fail up to three tests before you are no longer qualified for this area. Now if everyone will please follow me, we'll be continuing this is in another room."

The rest of the testing passed smoothly. Ron passed all but one test in which he forgot to factor in the abilities of mobile suits. The nervous boy, Thomas, also passed his tests, though he missed two. And, to Ron's annoyance, Terrence Geln made it through as well. Terrence or Terry, as he preferred, had a habit of ignoring the human element and sacrificing people or "dots" to get the job done. He failed one test because of that mindset.

When all the tests and scores were tallied up Ron, Terry, and Thomas were accepted in. Ron allowed himself a satisfied smirk. Getting in had been easy, hopefully so would the rest of the mission.

* * *

"Heero!" Duo cheered loudly. He bounced forward and wrapped his arm around his partner's shoulders. "It's been too long, partner! Is your punishment over yet?"

"Punishment?" Quatre asked as he and Trowa entered the meeting room. They both had folders under their arms and placed them on the round table in the center of the room. "What punishment?"

"Well Heero kinda pulled a stunt on our last mission by jumping outta a helicopter without a chute to catch the bad guy. He insists it wasn't a dangerous height and Une insists that it was, he's just weird."

Heero frowned. "That is not what was said."

"That's the basic gist of it. Anyway, he got punished by being sent to break in the 'special' new recruits that joined last month. We've both been on desk jobs ever since."

"I was wondering how Une got you both to agree to help me with the recruits. You just didn't have anything better to do."

Wufei entered the room followed by Sally Po, each carrying a stack of folders. "Hey guys, you wouldn't have happened to have seen—" Sally paused as all four boys pointed at a girl sleeping in the corner. Her head was titled backwards against the wall and she was curled up in her seat with papers scattered everywhere. "…my assistant, Jean Gardner."

"You workin' the poor girl to death, Sally," Duo said. "Even Heero lets'em sleep."

"I am not working her to death. We've just been extra busy with all the new recruits and Jean here is a perfectionist. She's an amazing assistant but she hasn't quite learned when to stop and take a break."

"Wake her up and leave. We have work to do."

Sally rolled her eyes. "Calm down, Heero. Jean's not going to reveal any secrets about the new recruits."

Heero merely stared and Sally sighed. Old habits died hard, she supposed. She walked over to Jean and knelt down, shaking the girl's shoulder. "Jean? Time to wake up, sleepy head."

Jean's eyes snapped open and in an instant she was one her feet, her fists raised. The pilots stared at her in surprise as Sally jumped back to avoid to getting hit by the girl. Jean blinked and looked around dazedly. When she realized who she had almost hit her eyes flew wide and her face became horrified.

"Doctor! I—I'm so sorry! I did-didn't realize! Oh _Merlin_ I'm sorry!"

"It's all right, Jean, you just startled me."

"Merlin?" Duo asked. "What kinda of curse is that?"

Hermione blushed at the slip of her tongue while Sally explained. "Ms. Gardner's parents were very traditional and didn't like to hear the Lord's name taken in vain so they taught her to say 'Merlin' instead."

"That's so strange." Duo laughed. "What weird parents."

Hermione bristled. "They weren't weird. They just wanted to raise me right."

"Why did you wake up like that?" Wufei demanded.

Hermione glanced at him. "Like what?"

"Like you were being attacked."

The girl frowned and shook her head. "Excuse me, Agent Chang, but I don't know what you are talking about. Doctor Po merely startled me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to complete and I'm sure none of you want me here for your meeting." Hermione then gathered up her things in one scoop and strode purposefully from the room.

Sally sighed. "She's a very touchy girl sometimes."

"Let's get this started," Duo said. "I want to go out tonight."

All six sat down at the table and opened their folders. "Let's start with the most relevant and impressive recruits and go from there. Heero, you were supposed to pick five from your group. Any good ones or did you just pick the best of the worst?"

"Two recruits showed great promise. Kron, Iien, and Porter, James. I have been working with them over the last month in special courses. My original intent was to bring them up to standard with their fellow recruits but both have already surpassed their comrades."

"So why are you still working them twice as hard?" Duo asked.

"I wish to test to their limits."

"Those poor bastards."

"They are progressing fairly well," Wufei added. "I believe they are ready to be integrated in with their peers. Heero and I are both recommending they remain a team and are tested in leadership positions."

Sally flipped through her folders. "Ah, here, James Porter. Healthy boy, no medical problems at all. He's an orphan who was raised in London, England. He came highly recommended from his school teachers and is praised as a hard worker and quick learner." She raised an eyebrow. "This is interesting. He was part of a rebel group in London."

"Yeah? Which side?"

"Neither. He defended his school with other students against anyone that got too close."

"School?" Duo exclaimed. "He was fighting while in school?"

"That's what the reports says. Apparently the school was in a strategic location. They tried to evacuate the students but they refused to leave and chose to fight instead."

"Crazy little shits." Duo smiled slightly as he shook his head.

"What about Kron?" Wufei asked.

"Raised with two military parents. His mother is a retired corporal and his father is a General from the colonies. Oh isn't this interesting. He seems to have a criminal record."

"We do not accept criminals into the Preventers."

"It's a minor record and has been expunged. Nothing serious, just some shoplifting charges, public intoxication, looks more like a kid crying out for attention than an actual criminal. I don't think it's anything to worry about."

"Leave it to Heero to find the messed up kids and call them the best."

"Yes well, he did find all four of you." Annoyed looks met Sally after she spoke and the Doctor merely smiled. "I'll make sure to note your recommendations, Heero. Quatre, Duo, anyone from your groups?"

"Nope. Just more grunts to fill up space," Duo said.

"I found three. Geln Terrance, Mack Thomas, and Windborne Arthur."

Sally flipped through her papers until she found the three files and pulled them out. "Geln Terrance, was born in France and raised in England by his parents who are now both deceased. He has a genius IQ and is recommended by his private university teachers. He's twenty years old and already has a Master degree in science and a Bachelors in civil history."

"He is a genius and extremely good," Quatre commented. "But I am worried about his lack of emotion. He doesn't seem to care that his decisions in this line of work will affect real human lives. However I believe that if I work with him, he'll become a great asset."

"Fine. Then I'll leave it to your judgment. Now Arthur Windborne."

"That redhead I talked to before the seminar?" Duo asked.

"Yes, he did extraordinarily well in the tests. Does he have an experience?"

"You'll love this. He also was part of a rebel group who did not choose a side during the war but merely defended his home from everyone."

"The same as Porter?"

"No. He was in the England countryside. Comes from a large family, no record, average student, and no real letters of recommendation. He's just an average kid from down the street."

"With a mind like a chessboard?" Quatre muttered. "Okay. And the last one?"

Sally opened the folder and stared at the paper for a long minute before shaking her head. "This file is fake if I've ever saw one. What are the idiots downstairs doing, letting something like this pass?" She grabbed her phone and punched in a number.

"Hello?" Jean's voice floated from the other line.

"Jean, I need a favor. Can you look up the medical files on Mack, Thomas? He's a new recruit."

"Sure, hold on." There was some typing before Jean's voice came back. "Got it. What did you need to know?"

"The files I have say that he's twenty-four."

"Not a chance," Jean interrupted. "Judging from the medical review and the picture on file I'd guess fifteen, sixteen at the most."

"That's what I thought. Thank you, Jean." She hung up and looked at Quatre. "This kid's only fifteen. He's out."

"I'll take care of it."

Sally stared at him. "You had better mean that you'll be sending him home, Quatre. We don't accept fifteen year olds into this organization. Eighteen is the youngest."

"I realize that, and I will take full responsibility with Lady Une. But I want to keep him here for awhile."

"Quatre—"

"I will take care of it, Sally. Don't worry."

Sally bit her tongue and let out a sigh of frustration. Quatre could be stubborn as hell when he wanted to be. "Fine. Was there anyone else you guys needed checked out or are we done here?"

Everyone shook their heads and Sally stood. "Then I'm going home and having a brandy. See you five tomorrow."

"You want to come out with us?" Duo offered. "Wufei and I are taking Heero to his first nightclub. We're gonna teach him how to dance."

Though Sally was very tempted to go watch, she shook her head. An endeavor like that would end with Heero shooting someone, probably Duo, and she didn't want to have to be the one to fill out the report on the matter.

"No thanks. I'll stick with my brandy." She left with a small wave and Duo turned to Quatre and Trowa.

"You guys are welcome too."

"A club sounds like fun." Quatre glanced at Trowa. "But we have work to finish. Maybe next time."

"Your loss."

"We'll see you tomorrow, Duo, Heero, Wufei." Trowa nodded farewell and the others called goodbyes as everyone went their separate ways.

**A/N: I like the last bit with boys going out to the club. I think it really proves that his is truly peace time and that they're integrating well to not fighting anymore. **

**So I finally got this story back on track. I've deleted/changed so much stuff that now I have more deleted "scenes" than actual story. But that's okay, because we're back on track! I just want to sit and write steamy romance scenes between Duo and Harry but there's all this... **_**plot**_**getting in the way of it. Gosh, how annoying. I mean, can't I just have them run into each other in the hallway, fall in love at first sight, and then find a broom closet for them to bang?**

**...Probably not.**

**Please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: There's a rather childish scene with Harry in the first part of this chapter, but I decided to let it go. It's fanfiction, so I took some creative licensing.**

**A couple people have asked if I still have the original version of this story. This is the original. The only difference between now and the a few years ago is that I've added a few scenes to flush things out more. So everything that was posted then is being reposted now. **

**Just for FYI, as of this chapter, Hermione's been with Preventers for about five months, Harry for about three, and Ron only two months.**

**Chapter Five: Everyday Duties**

"I'm starting to think Heero really doesn't like us," Harry complained as he was woken an hour earlier than usual on Monday morning.

"Really? I get the feeling he _does_." Iien stretched as he rolled out of the top bunk.

"Why?"

"You're so clueless sometimes. Think about it, James. He rides us harder than anyone here. Everyone else he pretty much ignores and leaves to the other instructors but us he takes care of personally."

"So?"

"Soooo, that means he likes us. He's wasting his own time to make us better."

"Or it could mean he doesn't think we're good enough and he wants us to improve."

"Which means he cares enough to help us improve." Iien placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Face it, James. He likes us. And we get to suffer the consequences."

"But we're joining the rest of the recruits today, so maybe things will get easier."

Iien sighed. "Your optimism gets really annoying sometimes." He threw his jacket at him. "Hurry up. I want to get breakfast before Heero shows up and makes us run."

Harry scrambled to change and hurried after Iien. After a month of living with the older man, Harry had come too really like him. Iien was a fun, caring guy, who had a temper but was also a hard worker. He also understood people very well and could tell what someone was feeling just by looking at them. Ever since Heero had put them in the same barracks and started them training together, Iien had been looking out for Harry.

Harry had never realized how horrible he was with people until coming to this place. Back home, everyone knew his name and already had an opinion formed about him before he ever met them. Here, he was a blank slate. No one knew him and no one cared to know him. He was just another special treatment kid who had friends in high places. Harry had never realized what a difference there was in someone's attitude when you weren't famous. Iien caught on to his awkwardness with people right away and had been shielding Harry from the harsh words ever since.

They ate in silence, mostly because Iien knew Harry preferred it that way. The mess hall was empty because no one else had to be up yet. Once they had finished eating, Harry led the way to the training fields and they plopped on the grass, starting their stretches.

"So you excited to be joining the rest of the recruits today?"

"A little," Harry answered. Actually he was very excited. He was hoping that now he would have a chance to prove himself and rise in the ranks. Not only that but large groups of people loved to gossip. If there were any rumors about wizards or unexplained events, Harry was most likely to hear about it in a large group and not isolated as he was now.

"I'm just hoping we don't get stuck with the buzzed-brothers."

"Yeah, getting away from them would be wicked."

The buzzed-brothers were the three brothers Iien and Harry had fought with when they first arrived. The brothers had gone out of their way to make sure the two felt unwelcome and hated. Harry was used to the hazing from his earlier years at Hogwarts and ignored it but Iien always got mad and started fights. And of course Harry couldn't leave his friend to fight alone and always joined in. He couldn't even begin to count the number of laps they had been forced to run as punishment for the fighting.

"Wonder where Heero or Wufei is?" Iien commented as he looked around. "One of them is usually here by now."

As if on cue, both Wufei and Heero entered the field from the far side. Harry pointed at them and Iien frowned as he squinted at the two.

"What?"

"Heero and Wufei… they're…" Iien stopped talking and suddenly cracked up in laughter. Harry jerked backwards in surprise and stared at him as though he'd just grown a second head.

"Are you all right?"

Iien didn't stop laughing until the two Preventers joined them. Harry stood and saluted the two, casting confused looks at his friend.

"What is wrong with him?" Wufei asked.

"I'm not sure. He just started laughing."

"Recruit Kron. Get up and pay attention."

"Yes sir, sorry sir." Iien stumbled to his feet and saluted. "Sir."

"As you are both aware, the newest recruits have been selected and start training today. We have been working with the both of you because we believe you have the potential to be better than your peers. We will test that theory today."

Harry and Iien traded looks.

"You will be given a squad of five men. Your job is to work together to get them up to standard. You have three weeks to do this before we send you on your first mission."

"You're… putting us in charge?" Harry asked, his voice colored with surprise.

"Do you not feel up for this, Porter?"

Harry quickly shook his head. "No sir. I'm just surprised. We've only been training for a month. I hadn't expected something like this so soon."

Heero lifted an eyebrow. "So you expected it later?"

Harry didn't back down. "Eventually, yes."

Iien was smiling next to him and Harry frowned between the three. Was he not supposed to expect to eventually be put into a leadership position? That was his ultimate goal, after all.

"Should I not have…?"

Iien thumped him gently on the head. "You're fine, James. Shut up and let them finish."

Harry obediently fell quiet and Heero continued. "You will both be promoted to the rank of Private but this rank is only honorary. If you do not perform satisfactorily in this task I will not hesitate to take it away."

"Yes sir!"

"That is all. Perform your warm ups and when you are finished we will go."

"Are you guys warming up with us?" Iien asked in surprise.

"We were busy this morning and this is the first chance we've had to work out," Wufei explained.

Iien grinned and cleared his throat to try and hide his laughter. Harry shot him a strange look as he followed Heero. As Heero lifted his arms to stretch, a large purplish bruise was revealed below his collarbone. Harry frowned in concern and paused in his own work out.

"Sir… did you just get back from a mission?"

Heero glanced at him. "No. I have been assigned to desk work until the end of this month."

"Oh… um, did you get into a fight then?"

"No. Why?"

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry. You have a bruise—"

"James!" Iien slapped a hand over his mouth. "Shut up, man!"

Harry stared at him in surprise. What had he done? Heero frowned and looked at his body. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the mark and he turned a harsh glare on Wufei. Wufei merely lifted an eyebrow and continued his stretches, his face definitely more smug than normal.

"We're just going to start our laps now." Iien shoved Harry towards the track, shaking his head. Harry jerked away to get him to stop and glared over his shoulder.

"What was all that about?"

"You idiot, James! You don't point things like that out!"

"He had a bruise! I was worried about how he got it!"

"That wasn't a bruise, nimrod!"

"Then what was—" Harry stopped talking abruptly as he realized exactly what it was. He blushed bright red.

"Exactly."

"And I pointed it out!" Harry took off running as if that would be enough to escape his embarrassment. Iien followed after him, laughing hysterically.

* * *

Harry stood with Iien in full Preventer uniform before a group of five new recruits. Two were the same age as him, one was a year younger, and the rest were older. The men closet in age stood at attention, ready to receive orders. The older men also stood at attention but they gave off an air of aloofness. They obviously didn't take the boys seriously because of their age differences.

The last time Harry had stood like this was the final battle of the war. He had stood with the students of Hogwarts and the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix. They had all trusted him then and, Harry was proud to say, he had not let them down. He had defeated Voldemort but only with their help. It felt so strange to stand before another group of fighters. These people were complete strangers to him and yet were expected to put their trust in his leadership. He didn't know their strengths or weaknesses or how well they would perform in a fight. Did they even know how to fight or were they new to the whole experience? How should he go about teaching them?

"Stop freaking out," Iien whispered to him. Harry shot him a look. He hated how easily the other boy could read him. "We'll be fine. Heero Yuy and Wufei Chang have been training us _themselves_. We can do this. We're ready."

"Enough with the pep talk, I get it."

"Just making sure."

After the ceremonies were complete all the recruits were carted off with their new team leaders. Iien took the point and ordered their recruits to form up and follow him. They did so without complaint and Harry brought up the rear. Once they were out at the track field, Iien stopped and turned around, surveying them all with a critical eye. He smiled after a moment.

"I am Private Iien Kron and one of your commanding officers. When we are on duty you will address me as Private Kron or Sir." He gestured to Harry. "James?"

Harry stepped forward. "I am Private James Porter. You will refer to me with the same respect as Private Kron. We have been assigned as your commanding officers for the next three weeks."

"Why only three weeks?"

Harry frowned at the man who spoke. "State your name, recruit."

"Mathew Methyl."

Harry raised an eyebrow and stared. Mathew soon began to fidget and looked to his other recruits to see what he had done wrong. One of them mouthed "sir" discreetly.

"Oh! Mathew Methyl, sir."

"Well Recruit Methyl, perhaps if you didn't interrupt me I would have been able to answer your question."

Harry stared at him again until the man finally said, "Sorry sir. It won't happen again."

"Good."

Iien relaxed against the fence as he watched James pace before the recruits. Heero had been right, James was a natural leader. He was completely awkward and clueless in social situations but give him some authority and a purpose and the kid came alive.

"The reason why we will only be here for three weeks is none of your concern. All you need to know is that we are here now and it is our job to get you prepared for your first mission. Private Kron and I will work with you and train you to see that goal accomplished. After a three week period you will be sent on your first mission." Harry paused and turned to face them. "If either I or Private Kron do not feel you are capable or mature enough to handle that mission, you will remain behind. No questions, no arguments."

"That being said," Iien interjected, "We're here to try and help. We'll be training alongside you so if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. We may only be with you temporarily, but that doesn't mean you can slack off."

"Now that introductions are over," Harry took over speaking once again, "Get running."

Five pairs of eyes blinked at him. Harry grinned and pointed at the track. "I said get running. Now."

"How long?" Mathew asked.

Harry glared at him. "Until I say stop. Now get going!"

The five jumped and quickly began to run. Harry stared after them disapprovingly. "He's going to be pain in the ass. He's older than us and so thinks he knows more. He's going to push our buttons."

"Or maybe just yours. I gotta admit James, I'm impressed."

"What?"

"I was worried you'd be too nice and let them walk all over you but you got one hell of backbone."

Harry leaned against the fence as well. "When you go out on a mission you're risking your life. You're not only responsible for yourself but your teammates as well. Being gentle in training doesn't prepare you for that truth. Being nice to them is the same as handicapping them. I would rather they were strong and hated me than weak and my best friend."

"That's your rebel background talking."

"Maybe. I've seen people die before and I don't want to see it anymore. So if that means they don't like me, then fine. I'll become their fucking worst nightmare if that's what it takes."

Iien whistled quietly and chuckled. "Glad I'm your partner and not your subordinate."

Harry rolled his eyes at him. They stood together, watching their recruits running at a moderate pace around the track. Both were quietly wondering if they were cut out for the job. Iien had never been put in charge of anything in his whole life. Sure, he'd concocted and led many crazy schemes with his friends when he was younger, but that had just been playing with the guys, not actual missions.

Harry, on the other hand, had been in charge before, but in the wizarding world. Everyone knew who he was and knew his role in the war and his importance. They didn't question the Chosen One, they put their faith in him and followed him blindly. This though, this was a muggle group of soldiers who did not, and would never find out, his credentials. How was he supposed to get them to trust him while hiding who he really was?

"You know," Iien suddenly spoke up, "now I get why we ran so much during training."

Harry was startled from his thoughts. "What?"

"It's kinda fun. We told them to run, and they ran."

Harry glanced at the recruits who were still jogging at a moderate pace but were starting to breathe harder now. "They need to build up their stamina."

"Yeah… hey, from now on, I'm gonna give the order to run, okay?"

"Is it really that fun for you?"

Iien nodded, smiling. "Yeah, sure is."

Harry just shrugged. "Whatever keeps you happy."

* * *

Ron stared at the screen before him. He really hated this part of the job. Staring at a computer screen and analyzing past battle strategies. It was one of the most boring things he had ever had to do to. It was even worse than History of Magic class back in Hogwarts with Professor Binns. At least back then he could sleep and copy Hermione's notes later.

Ron poked at the screen lazily. "To think, three months ago I didn't even know what a computer was. Now I work with one everyday."

"Did you say something, Arthur?"

Ron jumped in surprise. "Oh, Quatre. You scared me, mate."

Quatre was Ron's superior officer but he was extremely lax with formalities. He insisted that everyone call each other by their first names and they all try and work together as a team. Ron had to admit he liked Quatre. He was kind and smart but didn't flaunt his intelligence. And even though he was one of the richest men in the world, Ron never would have guessed it from his attitude. He was nothing like the stuck up purebloods Ron had grown up with.

"Sorry. I had thought you said something."

"Nah, just muttering to myself."

The sound of a laptop closing echoed around them and Terry stood up. "I've finished with my task. Here." He thrust the disc at Quatre and waited impatiently while the blond uploaded it onto his computer for review. Ron glared at the man before rolling his eyes. Terry was nothing but a giant pain in the ass who didn't understand the concept that they weren't just playing a game of strategy, but their decisions affected real lives. Ron had little patience for his attitude and so had taken to ignoring Terry as much as possible. He was worried that if he didn't he would punch the bugger and get kicked out.

"Okay. That's all for today, Terry. Tomorrow we'll be discussing everyone's findings and why they came to that choice."

Terry shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Fine." He left without another word, slamming the door behind.

"Why do you bother with that guy, Quatre?" Ron asked, staring after him. "He's a prick."

"He's not a prick, Arthur. He's different. He has a different way of thinking than you and I and so may come off as mean, but really, he's just behaving in the way he knows best."

"Like a prick."

"Arthur."

"All right, all right. Maybe he's not a bad guy but he sure has an attitude problem. I'm finished."

"Excellent."

Ron handed over his data and stood, stretching. While Quatre put the disc into the computer and began looking it over, Ron turned to the last person in the room. Thomas was sitting at his station, biting his thumbnail as he stared intently at the computer screen. He punched a few keys before sitting back and nodding.

"All finished?" Ron asked and Thomas nearly fell out of his chair in shock. Ron steadied him and sighed. "Calm down, Thomas. One of these days you will fall out of your chair and hurt yourself."

"Sorry." Thomas had a soft voice that you usually had to listen hard for to hear. He never made eye contact and was apologizing, even if nothing wrong had been done. Ron may not know anything about abuse, but even he could tell that this kid had been mistreated growing up. There was no other explanation for his behavior.

"So you finished?"

"Yes."

Ron glanced at the screen. "Cool. So what are you doing after this?"

"What?"

"Where you going? Home? Out?"

"I—I live I the barracks."

"Really?" Ron asked in surprise. "I figured someone like you would prefer a place of their own."

Thomas hung his head. "I can't afford rent."

"Oh… sorry, didn't mean to pry. But hey, that must be cool. You get to meet a lot of interesting people in the barracks, right?"

"Not really…" Thomas's eyes widened in shock. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't speak ill of my bunkmates."

"I don't care. Say all the bad things you want. Doesn't bug me."

"Thomas? Are you finished with your work yet?" Quatre called.

Thomas leapt to his feet. "Yes sir! I'm sorry for taking so long!" He grabbed his disc and hurried to get it to Quatre. He bowed his head as he held the disc out.

"Thank you, Thomas." Quatre made sure to make eye contact with the boy and smiled kindly. "You may stay if you wish."

"N-no, I'm okay. I'm going to go back home and, um, study."

"All right. Then I'll see you back here bright and early tomorrow."

"Yes sir."

Thomas hurried from the room with his head tucked down. Quatre stuck the disc into his computer and scanned through the data. Ron pulled up a chair.

"Hey Quatre, I thought the minimum age for the Preventers was eighteen."

"It is."

Ron glanced at where Thomas had gone before turning back to his boss. Quatre lifted an eyebrow and Ron continued to stare.

"I am well aware, Arthur. I have spoken to my superiors and they have given me permission to proceed as I see fit."

"A little kid shouldn't be doing anything that's even remotely involved with war."

Quatre was surprised by the venom in Ron's voice and stared at him calculatingly. "I agree, my friend. But given the option of keeping Thomas here, where myself and others can keep a close eye on him, and sending him back to whatever environment made him that way, I have chosen to keep him here. Do not worry. I'm watching him closely and would never allow him into a combat situation or to even have a say in the strategy of a real battle. Not until he's older, at least."

Ron nodded in approval. "You remind me of my friends back home, Quatre."

"Thank you, Arthur. I'm flattered."

Ron shrugged and stood up. "I'll see you later."

"Have a good night."

* * *

Hermione sipped at her tea and made a face and the bland taste. Whoever came up with the idea of instant tea had obviously never tried the real stuff. She missed her mom's tea. Her mother had always brought her a cup while she was studying or reading a book. The two loved to sit together on the couch reading and sipping their drinks in quiet comfort. She took another sip and sighed; instant tea was not worth the money.

"You're complaining about the tea to yourself again, aren't you?"

Hermione glanced up as Sally entered the office and placed her things on the desk. "Good morning, Sally."

"Good morning. Came in early again?"

"Not really. I stayed late last night so most of my work is caught up now." She turned back to the computer screen. "I have two more years of backlog to update and then I'll be finished."

"What would I do without you, Jean? Honestly, you've been a godsend."

Hermione smiled. "I'm just glad you chose me."

Sally leaned over her shoulder and stared at the screen. "So you're working on backlogs?"

"Yes. These are cases dating back to the early nineties and late eighties. Most are rather useless."

"The Family Reconstruction Act wants everything on file, even the useless stuff, which makes our lives harder and more annoying. How much longer do you think it will take?"

"Probably two or three days. Two if I work through the night."

"What have I told you about overworking yourself?"

Hermione laughed. "Actually, I was just thinking that I want this to be done so badly that I'll work through the night so I don't have to deal with it any longer." She flashed her boss a teasing smile. "I don't know how much more I can take."

"Just be glad you only have to deal with the public files and not the paranoid insane classified ones."

"My offer to help you still stands."

"You know the rules, Jean. No classified files in the hands of assistants." She sighed. "Though I've never wished that wasn't true until you came along."

Hermione smiled slightly. "No problem."

Sally returned to her desk and the two began their work in silence. It was an hour later that Hermione was still typing away and suddenly paused. An old file sat in front of her. As most of the old files were, this one was incomplete. It was a file on a boy named Harry Potter who had been brought into a London ER where he was treated for a high fever. He was kept one night for observation and sent home with a diagnostic of a bad case of the flu. Blood had been drawn and that was why it was on her desk now; there was enough blood on file to do a DNA test and therefore be entered in the Family Reconstruction Act system.

Hermione's fingers hesitated on the keyboard. Would Harry care if his information was on file? She would have to change it to make sure a match didn't appear between his aunt and cousin and blow their cover but that wouldn't be too difficult.

"Is something wrong, Jean?"

Hermione jumped slightly as Sally appeared over her shoulder. Her boss was holding another cup of tea and handed it to her.

"No, my mind just wandered for a second, that's all."

Sally read over the file briefly. "I hate these old files. This boy is what, nineteen by now? This is very outdated."

"Yes, it is."

Sally returned to her seat and Hermione sighed. She began to type the report. Harry would be all right; it wasn't like there was anything important in the record anyways. She would just make sure to modify it slightly so it didn't match James Porter's profile and everything would be just fine.

**A/N: The point of this chapter was to show their duties and responsibilities. Ron's was the hardest to figure out. I have zero clue what a military strategist does in peace time. Eventually I decided that they sit around in a room together, analyzing past battles and developing possible strategies for made up scenarios. Sorry if that's boring, but that's all I could come up with.**

**The next chapter is fun and will start to bring in the main pairings.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This chapter was fun to write because I got to include Duo. This is also the last re-written chapter. After this one, everything I post will brand new material. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Six: First Mission**

Three weeks went by fast for Harry and he realized he'd been undercover for nearly four months now. It was amazing how easy it was to adapt to life as a Preventer. He and Iien had been spending six out of seven days training their recruits. Harry had been correct, Mathew had been a pain in the ass but after three weeks of hard work, he had come around and now respected his commanding officers, even if he did tease them about their age every now and again.

Today, Harry was being sent on his first mission with his team. This was their test. If they succeeded in this mission, Harry and Iien would be permanently promoted to Privates and paired with a team and allowed to go on real missions. If he succeeded here, Harry would be well on his way to accomplishing his true mission; infiltrate the top ranks of the Preventers.

Harry's team stood at attention in the meeting room. Iien was leaning casually against the wall next to him while Harry stood at ease near the door. He was nervous but refused to show it. If the leader was nervous than so was the team. He had to exude a strong exterior and instill confidence in his recruits. Iien of course, saw right through his bravado and would smirk knowingly at him every so often.

The door opened and four people entered. Harry barely kept the shock from his face when he saw Ron among them. Though he had been communicating regularly with his friends, Harry had seen either one of them face to face in a long time. Ron caught his eye but was quick to look away. The blonde leading the group smiled as he saw everyone.

"Oh excellent, all of you are here. My name is Quatre Winner, please, have a seat."

"Yes sir!" Harry saluted and nodded to his team. The conference room they were sitting in had extra chairs so no one had trouble finding a place. Just as they sat down, the door opened again and admitted another three people. Harry and Iien stood and saluted Heero and Wufei. They didn't recognize the third person with the long braid who entered. Harry found the girl to be pretty and let his eyes linger for the briefest of moments. The girl caught him though and, much to his embarrassment, winked at him.

"Good morning, Heero, Wufei, Duo."

"Hey Q-ball!"

Harry blinked and quickly schooled his face to hide his surprise and embarrassment. That girl was a guy. He had a deep voice and as Harry took a closer look he realized his features were much more muscular than a girl's. It was just the hair and small frame that had thrown him off.

"We ready to go?"

"Not just yet, Duo. Please, everyone have a seat."

Once everyone was settled, Quatre stood and addressed Harry and his team. "Now as you know, this mission is a test to see if you will remain as Privates or be demoted back to recruits."

Harry's team looked up in surprise but one look from Iien had them keeping their mouths shut. Harry and Iien had only said that this was a test for the recruits, not for themselves.

Quatre continued on, ignoring the men. "I asked for Heero's permission to add a little something to this mission. It is now not only a test for you, but for my team as well." He gestured to his men and introduced them. It was the first time Harry had heard Ron's code name so he was careful to memorize it. "They have each formed a strategy for your mission and you may choose whichever plan you believe is best for your team."

"What is the mission, sir?" Iien asked.

It was Heero who answered. "We have finally gathered enough evidence to arrest and try a drug lord located the city. Your mission will be to find and arrest this man and return him to headquarters."

"Taking out a drug lord. That's a good use of our time."

Harry shot Iien a look that clearly told him to have some decorum. He turned back to Heero. "We understand. May we have the details on this assignment?"

"Actually, that's where we come in," Quatre said. "Each of my team has created a different plan to capture the target." He gestured at the three and they each placed a disk in front of Harry and Iien. Heero provided them with a computer and Iien stuck the first disk in. "Review each plan and chose the one you think is best suited for your team."

Everyone waited in silence as Harry and Iien reviewed the plans with their heads bent together and speaking in whispers. Iien kept gesturing at the screen but Harry shook his head, not listening. Finally they turned back to the group.

"We reject all these plans," Harry stated and turned to Heero. "Are we allowed to make our own?"

"Why are you rejecting our plans?" Terry demanded, leaning forward. "What could you possibly think is wrong with them?"

"In a nutshell?" Iien pointed at each disk as he spoke. "Too safe, too dangerous, too boring."

"Too dangerous?" Terry yelled. "It's the fastest and most effective way!"

"Yeah, if we were _robots_. Sure, your plan would work but come on, dude. You have us going in through the _front door_. Do you have any idea how many men could or will be there? Are there booby traps on the door? Is there a security system in place that can trap us in the doorway before we even have a chance to get through?" Iien leaned forward. "These are my men. There is no chance in hell I'm leading them in like that and risking their lives. You're plan is fucking laughable. Did you get this from some video game?"

Terry surged to his feet. Harry placed a hand on Iien's arm but it wasn't necessary as Iien merely leaned back and raised an eyebrow. "Guess I'll take that as a yes."

"Sit down, Recruit Geln," Quatre said firmly. Terry did so with an angry glare. Quatre turned back to the other two. "And your reasoning for rejecting the other two? Too… boring?"

Iien shrugged. "Well… it is. All the surveillance needed to accomplish this plan is a waste of time. There are better ways to go about this mission."

"And the third plan?"

Iien glanced at Harry. "I have no problem with it."

"Private Porter?"

"With all do respect, sirs, I've been training my men for three weeks. They can do this mission, I'm positive. These plans are good in their own merit but none of them utilize our skills to their fullest potential. I believe I can formulate a plan that fits our talents and will accomplish the mission with minimal danger."

"That's a pretty speech but you didn't say what was wrong with my plan." Ron stared Harry in the eye and both had to fight back amused looks.

"We can do better."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Prove it." Ron grabbed his disk and the computer and pulled it closer to him. He typed away rapidly and Harry was surprised. When he had left Ron, his friend had only just mastered turning computers on. Now he sat typing and rewriting his strategy as if he'd been doing it all his life. Finally, Ron turned the computer back to Harry and shoved it towards him. Harry peered at the screen with Iien.

"That's insane." Iien frowned. "That puts all the pressure on the person going into the house through the top floor. If anyone outside fails in their part of the plan it will all go to hell. The person inside will be left completely vulnerable."

"I accept."

"What?" The entire room turned to Harry in surprise.

Harry grinned and stood, placing his hands on the table. "I accept your plan. I'll prove to you just how good my team is. And to show that I have complete faith in them, I'll be the one to go into the house, alone."

"Whoa, hey, wait second—"

Ron stood as well and stuck out his hand. "Good luck."

"I won't need it."

"James…" Iien's complaints trailed off and he shook his head.

"Very well," Heero said. "Myself and Agent Maxwell will be accompanying you. We will be there as observers only."

"So if you screw up royally, we'll take over. If not…" Duo shrugged and sent them a wink.

"You ship out in two hours. Be ready by then."

"Yes sir!" Harry and Iien saluted and led their men out. Heero and Duo also took their leave, Duo bouncing and talking excitedly. When they were gone, Quatre turned to his team.

"Why did you change your plan?"

Ron made a thoughtful face. "That guy, Private Porter, he just struck me as someone who can handle it."

"Handle what?"

Ron shook his head. This was a hard conversation for him. He changed the plan because it was Harry and he knew Harry could handle it. Hell, Harry could pull off the entire mission on his own but Ron couldn't say that to Quatre.

"…When I look at a soldier I try and evaluate them based on their skills. Like with Agent Yuy; he exudes an aurora of absolute confidence and power. If I had to come up with a strategy for him, I wouldn't hold back. You can tell just by looking at him that he knows how to fight. With Private Porter, I got the same feeling. He knows what he can and can not handle. The way he was so positive of his team and their skills, I knew I could trust him."

Quatre smiled and nodded his head. This is what he had been hoping for. He wanted his team to actually meet the people they were making strategies for. He wanted them to remember that it was humans and not simulations. He turned to Terry.

"Terry? Are you all right?"

The skinny man was glaring at the table. "My plan will work."

"That may be true, but what Private Kron said is valid. Your plan will work but it is too dangerous. Why risk lives with one plan when another works just as well and isn't as dangerous?"

Terry continued to glare. "I didn't get it from a video game."

"I never thought you did."

Terry stood and left the room without another word. Ron rolled his eyes after him. "I told him—"

"Arthur."

Ron stopped talking at Quatre's firm tone and shrugged. He stood and turned to Thomas. "You coming, Tom?"

The teen jumped to his feet. "Yeah, I'm coming too."

The two left and Quatre sighed, resting his head in his hand. He turned to Wufei with a half-smile. "Any thoughts?"

"You're team is amateurish. Geln is too conceited, Thomas is too inexperienced, and Windborne is too easily influenced. You do not have a good team."

"I'm working on it. You seem to have found two good recruits."

"They are impressive but still green. We are not expecting them to succeed in this mission."

"You're not?"

"No. Heero and I have discussed it and believe they are both too inexperienced to do a good job. That's why we're sending Duo and Heero with them."

"Are you setting them up to fail?"

"I'll leave that up to them. We've already made up our minds."

Quatre nodded once more and stood. "Well if you'll excuse me, Wufei, I need to check on Terry. He doesn't take rejection well at all."

Wufei waved his friend away before gathering his folders and locking the room behind him. A slight movement out of the corner of his eye had him glancing down the hall with a deep frown. For a second, he could have sworn he saw a human ear trailing on the ground. Shaking his head, Wufei decided his eyes were playing tricks on him and left.

Around the corner, Ron rolled up his extendable ear and made a note to tell Harry everything he'd heard when he reported in.

* * *

Harry leaned against the wall and watched as his team finished loading up the supplies for their mission. Ron had appeared a few minutes earlier under the excuse that he wanted to watch the team go as it was his plan they were using. Iien was dishing out orders to the men and left the two alone to discuss the plan. Ron had just finished relating everything he'd overheard.

"They'll be surprised when I don't freeze up."

"They'll be even more surprised when you pull this mission off."

Harry smirked slightly. "Well yeah, you rewrote that mission specifically to show off my talents."

"The better we look, the quicker the true mission goes."

"Right. And now that we've been introduced under our code names, we can actually interact without arousing suspicion."

"We should still keep it to a minimum, just in case one of us gets discovered."

"I agree. I'm glad we know each other though. It'll make it easier to keep track of one another."

"Now all we need is for someone to introduce us to Hermione and we'll be set."

A loud whistle drew their attention and Iien waved at Harry.

"That's your cue, Private Porter. Good luck on your mission."

"Thanks, Mr. Windborne. See you when I get back."

Harry ran off and joined his team. Together he and Iien checked everything once more before reporting to Heero. Within minutes, the team was finished up and on their way to their first mission.

* * *

The house they were infiltrating was actually a mansion and designed like a maze to confuse people. Harry fingered the weapon at his side, mentally scowling at it. He hated carrying the gun around but it was the standard weapon for the Preventers. He much preferred his wand, which he had slipped up sleeve. Harry's team was outside the house placed in specific locations and ready to arrest any and everyone who exited. They were set up to do so quietly so that, hopefully, no one would notice their friends disappearing. While they were doing that, Harry was infiltrating the house to find the leader. This was why the mission was a risky one; if the guys outside failed to capture one of the bad guys, the guy could warn his friends and alert everyone to intruders.

Duo Maxwell was a couple steps behind him and Harry had to admit, he was beyond impressed with the older man's stealth abilities. At times, Harry forgot he was even there. True to his words, Duo didn't say a word. He was there only to observe. Harry had to be careful not to let Duo see him casting his magic during the mission.

A bird chirped loudly and Harry didn't waste time. The sound was a signal from his men stating that they were in position and ready to go. Harry dashed forward towards the house. He climbed one of the tall trees surrounding the building and entered from the roof. Duo kept pace with him easily.

Harry was silent as he slipped into the attic window. He paused just long enough to hold the window open for Duo. The teen slipped in easily and put his mouth next to Harry's ear. "Don't worry about me. Just keeping going."

Harry suppressed a shiver at the warm breath and nodded. He turned away and made his way to the door. Even though his footsteps were light, the wood still creaked under his weight. Duo didn't have that problem, much to the teen's chagrin. The hallway leading from the attic was empty and Harry slipped past the dust filled rooms. He was careful to breathe though his mouth so the dust didn't make him sneeze. It might have made his breathing louder but he wasn't all that concerned. No one here was going to be trained to listen for intruders breathing.

Harry made his way down two floors before finally encountering someone. He paused around the corner and watched as a maid tossed dirty sheets down a laundry chute and grabbed clean ones from the closet next to it. She walked down the hall, her heels clicking softly on the wood floors. Harry scowled after the woman, barely resisting the urge to pout. He hadn't known their were civilians in the house; that made his job a lot harder because now he had to be careful not to let them get hurt. If Duo wasn't right behind him, Harry would have just stunned the woman and apparated her outside somewhere safe.

He made a noise in the back of his throat. "Such a pain…"

Duo heard his complaint and smiled in amusement.

Harry traced the maid's footsteps downstairs and finally began hearing voices. The lower floors were spotless and filled with doors. Harry paused on the stairs and knelt down, surveying the hallway. There were six doors total, three were opened and three were closed. One that was open was a bathroom and the other two appeared to be TV rooms. A total of seven people were visible from Harry's vantage point. After discreetly checking on Duo, Harry placed both his palms on the floor and reached out with his magic. He cast a wandless and voiceless spell so it wasn't very strong. However it was strong enough to tell him the other three rooms were empty of heat signatures so there weren't any people in them.

Seven enemies on this floor and Harry needed to take them all out silently. Three were in the room closest to him and four were at the end of the hallway. Harry could chose to fight them or try and sneak by without being noticed. But if he did sneak by, he would have to constantly watch his back incase the men left the room and followed him downstairs. But if he chose to fight them, the noise could draw unwanted attention. Harry wasn't confident enough in his physical prowess to be able to take the men down quickly and quietly. If only Duo weren't around! Harry could just stun everyone and be on his way.

Harry bit his lip and leaned back, rubbing his palms together. He couldn't risk being discovered right now. He would just have to sneak by and keep a close eye on his back. Harry stood on his tiptoes and prepared to run. This was another thing he wasn't very good at without a silencing charm. But his shoes were soft-soled and so long as he stayed on his tiptoes he'd be fine. After making sure no one was paying attention, Harry dashed down the hall, keeping bent low and doing his best to keep his footsteps light. He made it to the next set of stairs without a problem and only had to wait a moment before Duo appeared behind him, grinning and bouncing on his heels. Harry frowned slightly in jealously before turning away.

The next floor was the one they had been looking for. The boss of the entire gang had the place to himself. A maid was rushing through her chores with her head down and cheeks red. From the doors behind her, loud moaning could be heard. Harry rolled his eyes and made a gagging face. Behind him, Duo laughed silently. The maid hurried off without noticing the boys and Harry placed his mouth on Duo's ear.

"So I get to do this however I want, right?" Duo nodded and Harry grinned wickedly. "Then let's have some fun."

Harry drew his gun and very calmly walked up to the bedroom door. He listened for a moment before lifting his fist and knocking. Duo shot him an incredulous look but Harry just shrugged. The moaning didn't stop, in fact, it grew louder. Harry didn't waste any more time being polite and kicked the door in.

The drug lord McCray was in the middle of pounding into a brunette girl with long hair. Harry suddenly felt sick. The brunette had bruises all over her body and her eyes were closed tightly with tear streaks on her face. Feeling his fury grow, Harry stalked forward and raised his gun, resting it between McCray's eyes just as the drug lord turned around. The man froze as he took in Harry's face.

"What the—Harry Potter?"

Mentally, Harry cursed. This was probably the only drug lord in the _entire_ muggle world who knew who he was and Harry just had to be lucky enough to meet him. Deciding to play it cool, Harry merely lifted an eyebrow.

"I am James Porter of the Preventers. Dan McCray, you are under arrest for the trafficking of illegal substances." He glanced at the girl. "And rape."

"What?!" McCray surged to his feet and Harry took a step back. He kept his gun raised but allowed the man to wrap a sheet around his waist. "How dare you try to arrest me! Do you have any idea who I am?!"

"You will place your hands behind your back and not resist arrest. I'll get you some pants."

McCray snorted and dropped the sheet proudly. Harry couldn't help but squirm in discomfort. How could people just candidly display themselves to complete strangers like that? That was all the distraction McCray needed as he suddenly snatched a cane near his bed and smacked Harry's gun from his hand. Harry felt the magic from the item and realized that this cane had once been a wand. That certainly explained how he knew who Harry was.

McCray raised his cane again but Harry surged forward and punched him in the gut. The man gasped and hunched over and Harry followed up with a punch to the jaw. As McCray fell, he grabbed Harry's collar and pulled him down after him. Harry landed on top of the drug lord but quickly jumped up as the man's erect penis jabbed into his side. Harry rubbed at the spot it had touched, looking disgusted.

"Damn it, put that thing away!"

"What? The famous Savior not like dick?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Harry aimed a kick right at his face and slammed his foot into McCray's nose. The man's eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed on the floor. Harry stood and retrieved his gun. "You could have helped, you know."

"Your mission, I'm just here to observe."

Harry rolled his eyes and knelt next to the brunette woman on the bed. "She's alive, just passed out." Harry covered the woman up carefully before walking to the window. He pulled out a flashlight and turned it on and off three times for a minute, signaling to his team that it was safe to move in. As soon as he saw his men appearing from the trees, Harry stepped away from the window.

"…Why's it still up? He's unconscious. You think that would have killed any erection he had going."

Duo laughed and picked up some pills on the table. "Not when he's got help. Wonder who Harry Potter is?"

"You got me." Harry found some pants and began pulling them on the naked man. "I do not want to keep looking at this thing."

"You let him distract you."

Harry glared. "Well yeah. He just whipped his dick out. Any normal person would be freaked out by that."

"Freaked out or not, you can't let it distract you. It gave him the chance to disarm you which could have been a lot more dangerous." Duo caught Harry's hand and held it up. "You lose points for getting cut."

Harry scowled at the floor and took his hand back. "It's just a scratch." He licked away the small amount of blood that had appeared before wiping his hand on his pants. Duo shook his head as Harry handcuffed McCray to the bed.

"I need to go check on my team. You coming?"

"Of course."

* * *

Harry stared at the ceiling with his arms folded behind his head. His and Iien's shared room was completely dark as it was almost one in the morning. Ever since having returned from the mission, Harry had been restless. Their superior officers were going to announce how they did tomorrow morning. Until then Harry and his team were free to do as they pleased.

"Stop worrying." Iien's tired voice floated up from the top bunk.

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are. The mission was a complete success. We arrested the guy and there were no causalities on either side. Not to mention all the evidence we gathered from that house. There's no way those guys are getting off with anything less than a life sentence."

Harry nodded to himself, knowing that was true. That wasn't what was bothering him though. McCray had recognized him as Harry Potter and even called him that in front of Duo. Harry had been able to play it off easily enough but what if McCray mentioned it again? What if he tried to make a deal with Preventers to get a lighter sentence by telling them who James Porter really was?

Harry couldn't allow that. He would not let his mission be ended by some drug trafficking scum. He grabbed his wand from under his pillow and rolled over. Iien peaked his eyes open sleepily.

"What now?"

"Sorry." Harry raised his wand and cast a quick spell that had Iien asleep in moments. Once that was done, Harry sat up and pulled his bracelet off.

The bracelet was something that Hermione had discovered in an old book but it had been Harry and Ron who made it work. By using stones that had been forged in the heart of a volcano (they had cost Harry a _lot_ of money), the three invoked an ancient spell that infused a tiny bit of their life force into the stones. Much like Mrs. Weasley's family clock, the stones told the state of the person whose life it was infused with. They also doubled as a communication device that could not be blocked or traced. During the war, the bracelets had been a necessity for the trio, but after the war ended, they were just convenient.

Harry touched the green stone that represented himself. It glowed briefly and it wasn't long before Ron's red stone flared in response and then Hermione's yellow one. Harry stretched the bracelet out until the center was filled with two small images of his friend's faces.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Ron's tired voice asked.

"Is everything all right?" Hermione was still in her day clothes and clutching a book to her chest.

"McCray, the drug lord we arrested today?"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"He recognized Harry Potter. I'm worried that he'll blow my cover."

Ron and Hermione frowned deeply. "That would jeopardize the mission."

"Leave it to me, Harry," Hermione said. "I know where he's being held."

"What are you going to do?"

Hermione grinned. "Oh nothing, just a little doctor's check up." Her stone stopped glowing and her image disappeared. Ron stared at Harry.

"We're a bad influence on her, mate."

Harry laughed.

* * *

Hermione flashed her ID badge to the guards and was granted access right away. McCray was chained to an interrogation table, scowling fiercely. He growled when Hermione walked in but quickly stopped. His eyes widened slowly as he recognized the blonde girl.

"You—"

"Jean Gardner. I'm here to do a quick check up before the interrogation team arrives."

"I should have known; if the Savior is here then his lackeys would be too. You think you can get away with this? I'll tell the entire Wizarding World where you are, what you're doing. You just wait. You won't be here for long."

Hermione blinked innocently at the man. "Excuse me, but did you just say 'Wizarding World' as in magic?" She began to giggle and pulled out her note chart to write something down. "I'll have a psychologist come speak to you as well."

"Why you—!" McCray attempted to stand but the chains kept him in place. Hermione smirked and stood, making sure her back was to the camera in the room. She allowed her wand to slip partly into her hand and cast a spell under her breath. The camera in the room crackled and the red light that indicated recording switched off. She smiled.

"Now, Mr. McCray, who did you see in that house?"

Before the man could answer, Hermione cast _Oblivate_ and the man's eyes went blank. She quickly modified his memories under the guise of giving him a physical exam. It took only a minute before Hermione stepped away and removed the spell that stopped the camera.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. McCray. Someone will be in to speak with you shortly."

She left the room, a pleased smile gracing her lips.

**A/N: Okay so this chapter kinda ends the "first part" of the story in my mind. Now we get started on the juicy stuff! Thanks for reading, please review! I love and appreciate all of them! **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So I definitely made a mistake when I wrote the ending to my other story, A Fate Worse Than Death because in my mind, it's over. I wrote the end for goodness sake. I've really got buckle down and write the last two chapters of that story.**

**As for this story, this chapter is a little bit of filler but it has some important information in it. Please enjoy!**

**Chapter Seven: Painful Memories**

Harry saluted as a pin was added to his uniform signifying his promotion to Private, Special Class. Iien was next to him with a wild grin on his face. After their successful mission, the two had been promoted with flying colors and we now being transferred to an elite group of trainees. Once the ceremony was complete they were expected to report to Lady Une herself for their new orders.

Harry couldn't be prouder. Not only was his mission going fantastically well but he had earned his rank on his own. No one had given him special treatment for being the boy-who-lived or judged him unfairly. He had succeeded on his own merits and that was the best feeling in the world.

With the ceremony over, Iien and Harry said farewell to their team, promising to keep in touch and look in on each other. The two made their way to Lady Une's office, both sporting silly grins.

"That mission was only a success because of you."

"You guys backed me up. I would have been in a lot of trouble without the help."

"You and your modesty." Iien nudged him. "So what do think they're going to do with us now?"

"I don't know. I hope we don't have to wait and find out. I hate waiting."

Iien laughed and the two stepped out of the elevator. Lady Une's office was on the top floor and she had it almost completely to herself. The only other offices nearby were for her secretary, Dr. Po, and the highest ranked members in the Preventers which, at the moment, were the five former Gundam pilots.

Wufei met them at the elevator and the two saluted him. He nodded and gestured for them to follow him to Une's office. Heero and Duo were sitting in front of the desk, talking with Une. Duo was waving a doughnut around energetically as he spoke while Heero kept a weary eye on the food, just in case it flew from the braided man's hand. Wufei took his spot behind Heero while Iien and Harry saluted their superiors.

"At ease, gentlemen." Une waved her hand towards a couple chairs and the boys sat. "I'm sure you're both wondering what we're going to do with you now?"

Neither boy was able to fully hide the eagerness from their faces.

Une smiled. "You are both a formidable team and natural born leaders. However you are also very green and still require more teaching. It is for this reason that we've decided to split you up."

Harry glanced at Iien in disappointment, noticing his friend was scowling.

"I think you're talents are better served in different departments. Mr. Porter, at the moment Agent Maxwell is without a partner. After observing you on your mission, he has agreed to take you on."

Harry blinked and turned to the grinning man in surprise. "We'll be partners?"

"Kind of. We'll work together, but I'll be in charge." Duo grinned and shoved his doughnut into his mouth. "Thwaht cool?"

Wufei sneered. "Maxwell, don't speak with your mouth full. It's disgusting."

Duo grinned, showing half eaten doughnut. Wufei made a face of pure disgust and turned away in an angry huff.

"Excuse me, Agent Maxwell, but I had thought you were already partnered with Agent Yuy?" Harry asked.

Duo swallowed his food with a shrug. "Hee-chan's got himself a new partner and I said it was cool if we switched. Besides, it wasn't fair for the bad guys when we worked together. They never had a chance."

Iien grinned and started to make a comment about Heero's new "partner" but Harry discreetly stomped on the man's foot. Iien shut his mouth with a scowl in Harry's direction.

"What about me, Commander?" Iien asked Lady Une instead.

"Private Kron we have received extremely positive reviews about your teaching abilities from the men you commanded. They claim you were able to help them prepare mentally for their battle and kept them calm during their first mission. Your teachers have also observed this about you and so we have decided to keep you as a teacher for other recruits."

Iien sat forward quickly. "Wait, he gets partnered with one of the best Agents in the organization and I get a babysitting job?"

Duo snorted next to them while Une frowned. "It's hardly a babysitting job." Iien stared at her disbelievingly. "We have no intention of confining you to only taking care of the recruits. You will be given regular assignments to carry out and plenty of field experience. At the moment Agent Barton has been performing most of his missions solo, as Agent Winner has been dividing his time between training new recruits and running his company. Barton has agreed to take you on some of his missions that he feels would benefit you."

Iien perked up at the news. So long as he wasn't expected to only take care of the new guys he could live with helping out the more nervous ones in the group. Being mentally prepared for a fight was just as important as being physically prepared. And if it meant he got to go out on missions with a top Preventer agent, he would willingly train just about anyone.

"Yes ma'am."

"With that being said you both have the weekend to yourselves. Come Monday you'll be expected to report to your new commanding officers, ready to go." She stood with a small smile and Harry and Iien quickly stood and saluted. "Welcome to the elite of the Preventers, gentlemen."

"Thank you, ma'am!"

Harry and Iien grinned with pride as they were dismissed from the office.

* * *

"Congratulations, Harry," Ron lifted the drink in front of him.

"Excellent work, Harry. We're so proud of you," Hermione agreed.

"Thanks you guys."

The three were sitting in a small bar in France, sipping on drinks. After Harry had received the news of his promotion, the three had decided to celebrate. Not wanting to be caught by the Preventers, they had apparated to France and found a small bar where they could drink together without being seen.

"The mission is going extremely well," Hermione commented after having discreetly cast a privacy charm around their table. "Aside from that small hiccup with McCray, no one suspects a thing."

"Did you modify his memory?"

"Yes, but it was a very weak charm. I informed Kingsley about him the last time I reported in. Turns out he was a wizard charged with murder. They broke his wand but he managed to escape before they could put him in Azkaban. Kingsley said he would take custody of him as soon as the Preventers transferred him to a court to be charged."

Ron sent Harry a teasing grin. "Heard you froze up when you saw his dick flopping around."

Harry rolled his eyes. "It was disgusting."

Ron laughed and patted his shoulder. "It's a penis, mate. We've all got one."

"Whatever."

The waitress arrived with a couple of appetizers and the friends began picking at the food as they talked.

"Well, this mission may be going good for the two of you but I'm still stuck in the same place as I was on day one," Ron grumbled.

"You seem very close with Quatre," Hermione pointed out.

Ron shook his head. "He's like that with everybody. We're friends, but he would never confide with me. I need to get a chance to prove myself, to do something big that will move me up in the ranks."

"What about the mission you wrote up for me? Didn't that get you any credit?"

"It got me credit as a strategist but not much else. I need to do something to prove my worth but it's nearly impossible while sitting in that room all damn day."

"Well we'll keep our eyes open for anything that can help you," Harry assured. "Until then, keep trying to get in good with Quatre. Even though we're making progress, none of us has managed to achieve a high enough status to gain access to their classified material."

Hermione nodded. "Ron's right, we all have to do something drastic that will push us up the ladder. We've all proven were capable, now we have to prove we're trustworthy as well."

"That's kinda hard, seeing as how we're really not," Ron pointed out.

"We're not trying to hurt them," Harry argued. "Or even trick them. We're going to go in and modify some files and charm some people into accepting the stories that are already there. We're not here to hurt anyone; we're just here to protect magic."

"I hope it ends up being that simple, Harry," Hermione said. She glanced at her watch. "It's getting pretty late. We should head back before someone starts to miss us."

Harry tossed some money on the table and the three walked out together. They casually turned down a back alley and walked until they were out of view from the street. Harry turned to his friends with a smile.

"I'm going to miss you guys." He gave Hermione a quick hug and patted Ron on the shoulder.

"It is horrible how we work together and can't even say hi," Hermione agreed sadly.

"Hey, at least we can sneak out to France together," Ron joked. "And the sooner we get this mission done the sooner we can go home. I know I said I was excited to get away from my mum for a little while, but I'm actually starting to miss her."

"Well you had better, she's your mother!" Hermione scolded. "But Ron's right, I do miss home."

"I really miss Teddy too. He's going to turn three pretty soon." Harry shrugged. "Well then let's hurry and finish this mission. The sooner we're done, the sooner we go home."

The three said one last farewell before Hermione apparated away. Ron waited a few minutes before following after her. Harry sighed and looked out the alley to the street. He saw a magical bus shoot by and smiled as he remembered his first time on the Knight Bus. He felt bad for being forced to deceive the Preventers but he had no choice. The magical world was his home and he was going to protect it, no matter what it took.

* * *

Ron woke up Monday morning to find a letter resting on his chest. He blinked at it for a long moment before realizing he should hide it from his other bunkmates. He slipped the letter under his pillow and began his morning routine as if nothing was wrong but the entire time he showered and brushed his teeth, his eyes kept straying to his pillow and the message waiting underneath.

Finally, Ron waved farewell to his roommates and stuck the letter into his pocket and left. He waited until he was halfway to the strategy room and no one was around before opening the envelope. There was note along with a second envelope with his mother's writing on it. Ron read the note first.

_Agent;_

_ Even though I expressly forbid contact, this was an emergency. Keep your decorum and remember you are Author Windborne._

Ron frowned and hurriedly ripped open the second envelope. The paper was splattered with dried tear marks and Ron stared in horror at his mother's handwriting. He felt his hands shaking and clenched them tightly, crumbling the paper. A moment later his mother's letter and the note burst into flames and were incinerated. Ron gulped, forcing himself to breathe through his nose and try to remain calm. It didn't work and he punched the wall with an angry shout.

"Arthur!"

It took Ron a long moment before he remembered where he was and that he was Arthur. He turned his head and saw Quatre standing there with Thomas and Terry. Thomas looked terrified and was hiding slightly behind Terry, who looked mildly curious.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Ron ground out. He looked at his hand that was still on the wall. His knuckles were bleeding. "I just needed to punch something. I'm okay now."

Ron forced himself away from the wall and walked blindly into the strategy room. He sat down before his computer and stared at the blood on his knuckles. The red stain brought back memories he was still trying to forget. Fred's head had been bleeding when he saw his mother cradling his dead body to her chest while George cried, clutching his twin's hand. Ron had never seen George cry before that moment.

"Arthur?"

Ron blinked as Quatre knelt in front of him. His blue eyes were filled with worry.

"Are you all right? Do want sometime to yourself?"

"I'm fine," Ron stated. An explosion rang in his head and Ron could feel the hatred he had felt the day of the final battle at Hogwarts as clearly as though he were back in the fight. They had murdered his brother. His annoying, hilarious, prankster brother. "Please, continue."

"If you need something, let me know." Quatre stood, staring down at him worriedly. He could sense the rage and grief brewing in his student but could tell this was not the time to confront him. He would wait until Terry and Thomas were gone.

Quatre passed out their assignments and told them to find another way to defeat the enemy than the one he had already come up with. It was a hard assignment as Quatre had left them no room for error and put a time limit on how long they had to figure out a backup plan. Terry and Thomas became consumed in their work but Arthur just stared blankly at the screen. He would push a button every so often but it was clear he had no idea what he was doing. Quatre kept a close eye on him and took note at how he kept staring at his scraped knuckles.

Finally, the timer dinged and Quatre ordered them to stop and present their work. As usual, Terry was the first to share his plan and as usual, it was successful but with little to no care for the humans the dots were supposed to represent. However, what was not usual was how Arthur reacted to Terry's plan. Normally he would roll his eyes and sneer, and sometimes even start a heated debate about how wrong Terry was, but today, Arthur was looking for a fight.

"Terry, could you calculate the amount of casualties your plan would cause?" Quatre asked.

"Approximately one third of the troops would be sacrificed for the good of all."

"For the good all?" Ron interrupted his voice low and dark. "For the _good_ of _all_?"

Terry merely rolled his eyes. "Spare me yet another speech about how these are people and not dots. It's a war, people die. They know they're risking their lives when they join up. Not everyone can return alive."

Fred knew he was risking his life when he joined the Order. Ron and Hermione knew they were risking their lives when they swore they would stand by Harry no matter what. The children of Hogwarts didn't join; they were caught up in the fight. Parents didn't know they were sending their children to hell the final year of the war when the Death Eaters took over the school and tortured everyone into obeying Voldemort.

"You're right," Ron said and met Terry's eyes. "Not everyone will return. But that doesn't give you the right to kill them."

"I'm not killing them!"

"Then who is?"

Terry frowned, not liking the way Ron stared at him with such cold eyes. "The enemy."

"And who is sending them to face that enemy?" Terry's mouth opened and closed for a moment before Ron stood, placing his hands on the desk to hide how badly they were shaking. "I'll give you a hint; it's _you_."

"I'm not the one pulling the trigger."

"But you're still responsible," Ron growled.

"They're just dots on the screen! None of this is real! We're not allowed to handle the real—"

Ron suddenly leapt over the desk and grabbed Terry's shirt, slamming him hard against the wall. "Yes it is!" he screamed, spittle flying his mouth. "It's _always_ real! You've never told someone where an enemy camp is only to find out it was a trap and all of your friends were slaughtered because of the info _you_ gave them! You've never seen your family lying at your feet _dying_ because they were attacked from behind! Well?" He shook the boy hard. "Have you? Have you ever seen that? Have you ever seen your mother cradling your dead brother moments after he was _murdered_? While your family stands around and sobs because their brother, their son, is _dead_? Well? HAVE YOU?"

Quatre grabbed Ron's shoulder and firmly pulled him away from Terry. Ron was so enraged that he balled his first and swung a punch as hard as he could at Quatre's face. Quatre sidestepped the attack and caught Ron's wrist, clutching it so tightly it began to bruise. He met Ron's gaze steadily.

"Terry, Thomas, leave." The two didn't need to be told twice and practically ran from the room, shutting the door after them. Once they were gone, Quatre spoke quietly. "If you wish to fight, I will indulge you. But I hope you can gather yourself and talk to me peacefully."

In the back of Ron's mind he knew this was a test; a test of his self-control. He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath, not caring when a couple of tears fell from his eyes. Quatre wouldn't judge him.

"Tell me what's wrong."

Ron didn't want to say it out loud but he knew he had to. He couldn't keep this bottled in. So he spoke slowly and through gritted teeth. "I got a letter from my mum this morning." He paused and Quatre waited patiently for him to continue. "My brother George tried to kill himself two nights ago." Ron forced himself to take a couple of deep breaths to stop his head from spinning. It didn't escape his notice that Quatre had yet to let go of his wrist. "He would have but his girlfriend, Angelina, came home from work early that day. She got him to the healer fast enough."

"Will he live?"

"…Yeah."

Finally, Ron's tense body relaxed and he sat down hard on the floor. Quatre released his wrist and Ron hid his face in his hands. "Merlin Quatre, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have acted that way."

"It's okay," Quatre assured, taking note that Ron had just said the word "Merlin." "I think your display finally drove home the point we've been trying to teach Terry."

"Good."

Quatre joined him on the floor, crossing his legs. "Do you know why your brother tried to to kill himself?"

Ron ran a hand through his red hair. "I have six siblings; a younger sister and five older brothers. We all fought to protect our home during the war. It was during the last battle actually, that my brother, Fred was killed. Fred and George were identical twins; they were always together, you never saw one without the other. George was there when Fred was killed." Ron turned away and shook his head. "We were all there." Tears stung his eyes at the memory but Ron blinked them away. "George hasn't gotten over it. My mum checks on him all the time. She makes sure he comes over at least once a week for dinner and Angelina is by his side constantly. We thought he was getting better, that he was doing okay."

"It is very hard to recognize the signs of suicide. I'm sure you're family did everything they could."

"I haven't seen him in six months. I worked so hard to be able to get accepted in here that I barely saw anyone before I left. And I haven't had any time off since I got here."

"You can go see your family at anytime, Arthur. I'll even arrange transport if you need it."

Ron just shook his head. "What am I going to say? Sorry I've ignored you lately but I heard you tried to kill yourself and came running?"

"That's a start," Quatre answered. He reached out and helped him to his feet. "Take a week off to go home. If you need longer than that, just tell me and you can have more time, no problem."

Ron nodded numbly. "Thank you, Quatre. I'll probably leave today."

"Of course. If you need anything, just let me know."

He nodded again and left the room with his head hung low and dragging his feet. Quatre heard him whisper under his breath before the door swished closed behind him.

"The war's over, so why are we still losing people?"

Quatre sighed and placed a hand over his heart. He was definitely going straight home to Trowa after this. Quatre walked to Arthur's computer to shut it down but paused and looked closer at the screen in astonishment.

Arthur had finished the assignment flawlessly.

* * *

Ron sat with his face in his hands, taking slow, deep breaths. His eyes were burning but he refused to let himself cry. He had been at St Mungos for two days now and still hadn't been able to see George. His brother was out of recovery and now staying in the mental ward for observation. The healers weren't letting him leave until they were sure he wouldn't try and hurt himself again.

Mrs. Weasley was usually here too, but Ron and Bill had finally convinced the poor woman to return home and shower and get a change of clothes. Ron had sworn he wouldn't leave his post until she came back and Bill, Ginny, and Mr. Weasley went with her to make sure she was okay.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the otherwise quiet hallway and Ron straightened. Charlie, Percy, and Minister Shacklebolt were walking towards him down the hall. Charlie handed his younger brother a drink before taking the chair next to him.

"Thanks," Ron muttered.

"Been able to see him yet?"

"No. He's refusing to see anyone," Ron answered. "We finally got Mum to go home for a few hours. The others are with her."

"What was George thinking? Pulling a stunt like this?"

"He was thinking life sucks," Ron shrugged. He turned to Kingsley. "What are you doing here, Minister?"

"Please, no formalities. I'm off the clock right now," Kingsley said. "I'm just here to check up on my young friend."

Ron nodded and took a drink. He leaned back, sighing.

"So where have you been?" Charlie asked suddenly. "We haven't heard from you or the other two in months now. Mum and Dad keep telling us you're fine."

Ron glanced at Kingsley who shook his head. The redhead sighed. "We're on a mission," he explained shortly. "It doesn't allow us a lot of opportunity to write letters. Harry and Hermione are covering me while I'm here but I'll have to go back at the end of the week."

"Must be an important assignment."

Ron glanced at his brother, positive he could hear a tone of disapproval in his voice, but Charlie kept his face completely blank, hiding his thoughts. Ron looked away and glanced at Percy and the Minister.

"You two look exhausted," he said.

"We've been working nonstop on this Veela crisis," Percy answered with a sigh. "It's starting to get out of hand."

"What crisis?"

Charlie and Percy stared at him like he was crazy. "What do you mean 'what crisis'? The Veela government has been demanding restitution for the loses they suffered during the war."

"You've been living under a rock or something, little brother?" Charlie asked.

Ron shrugged as Kingsley spoke. "The Veelas lost a lot of land and money to Death Eaters, not to mention how many of their people were killed for not being pureblood. They're very angry and want wizards to compensate them for their loses."

"We've given them a lot already," Percy added. "We're giving monthly restitutions to the families who had a member murdered and we're building new homes for those that lost theirs but the Veelas don't think it's enough."

"Did they forget we lost a lot too?" Ron asked. "We suffered at the hands of Death Eaters just as much as they did."

"It's a big mess," Percy sighed. "We're trying to get them to calm down and stop making ridiculous demands but everyone's still pretty upset."

"What kind of demands?"

"More money, more land," Kingsley answered. "They want treaties and, just recently, have started talking about reinstating marriage contracts."

"Marriage contracts?" Ron exclaimed.

"Over sixty years ago the more powerful wizard and Veela families had marriage contracts between each other. The idea was that if enough of the families mixed, wizards and Veelas wouldn't fight each other because they'd be connected. The contracts died out before the first war when too many young people rebelled against being forced to marry someone they didn't love."

"Why would they want to bring something so old fashioned back? People will rebel just like before."

"I don't think they actually will," Percy said. "We think they just mentioned it to try and scare us into meeting their other demands."

Ron rolled his eyes. "This is why I chose to be an Auror and not a politician."

"As if you have the smarts for politics," Charlies teased. "Now that girlfriend of yours..."

"Yes, if Ms. Granger ever wants to switch professions, I will accept her in a heartbeat," Kingsley said.

Ron laughed. "Hermione's very happy with being a weird healer/Auror/semi-lawyer hybrid."

The men chuckled lightly just as the rest of the Weasley clan appeared at the end of the hall. The boys stood to greet them and Kingsley took the opportunity to gently pull Ron aside.

"How is the mission progressing?"

Ron shrugged. "Hermione and Harry are doing fairly well," he said. "We're stuck at a standstill right now."

Kingsley nodded and glanced around quickly, making sure the Weasleys weren't paying them any attention. "I don't want you to feel rushed with this assignment. Go ahead and take your time."

Ron frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The Minister shifted, looking uncomfortable. "I agree with your brother when he said that the marriage contracts the Veela mentioned were just a scare tacit."

"But...?"

"But one of them went as far as to include the Potter family name. Many years ago the Potter family had a contract with one of the most powerful Veela families. It's just... worrisome that they would chose that particular contract to attempt to frighten us with."

"You think it's serious enough I should warn Harry?"

"No, no, I don't want to trouble him. But the longer he stays hidden in the muggle world the better. These negotiations shouldn't take more than a couple of months."

Ron nodded slowly. "I don't think I like this, Kingsley. You know the kind of luck Harry has."

"Everything will be fine, Ron." The Minister patted his shoulder. "I promise, I'll be looking out for Harry's best interest. Trust me."

Ron nodded slowly, not fully able to shake the bad feeling that settled into his gut.

**A/N: I'm sorry about George but I needed to do something drastic to move Ron along in his job and... well I like writing drama. It's fun.**

**Review questions! So a few people asked about McCray. He's not an important character, just a plot device. You won't see him again. And a couple people asked about when the FRA will come into play. My answer is that there are a lot of plot lines going on in the story. We've got the romance element, the family one, and now a new political thing that I've just barely touched on in this chapter.**

**So be patient, it'll happen. Until then, enjoy the story and please remember to review because I love them!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Did I say last chapter was filler? Maybe I meant this one. Lol. Whatever, I love the scene between Harry and Duo in this chapter. It was fun to write and a good way to explore the start of their relationship. Really, almost all of this chapter is Harry and Duo being cute and fun.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Eight**

Harry was in an extremely foul mood as he walked to meet with Duo on Monday. Ron had told him and Hermione what had happened and that he was going back home to see George. Harry was furious that he couldn't go with him as well. George was just as much a brother to him as Ron was and Harry wanted to be there to help. But it would be extremely suspicious if he left at the same time as Ron. So the three had agreed they would wait. When Ron returned, Harry could ask for some time off and go see George next and then Hermione would after him. They each wrote quick notes telling George they loved him and promising to see him soon.

Duo wasn't in his office when Harry arrived so the teen threw himself into a chair and waited. He cursed the stupid mission in his head and hated the fact that he couldn't go be with his surrogate family. The mission couldn't be more important than his family, could it? Maybe they could risk him leaving at the same time just this once; it was for something extremely important, after all.

The office door opened and Duo came in with his arms full of donuts. He grinned and winked at Harry as way of greeting because his mouth was stuffed. Powdered sugar covered his lips and Harry had to smile at the image. Duo dropped the doughnuts on the desk carelessly and swallowed the food in his mouth.

"What's up, kid? I got doughnuts to celebrate our first day on the job together. I didn't know what kind you liked so I got one of everything and figured we could try them all!"

"I don't think I can eat that many doughnuts, Agent Maxwell."

Duo made a gagging sound. "First of all, don't call me that. We're partners now and the name is Duo. Second, if you want to continue to be my partner, you'd better not forget number one and you'd better learn to eat a lot of doughnuts. 'Cause that's what I do. Eat doughnuts."

Harry grinned. "I can tell." He playfully poked at Duo's stomach but the man swatted his hand away easily.

"Whatever. So go ahead and pick one already."

Harry really wasn't in the mood for sweets but Duo looked so hopeful that he decided to pick one out. He looked at the variety and barely stopped from rolling his eyes when he realized Duo really had bought one of every flavor. Harry picked a glazed one.

"Really? _Glazed_? How boring."

Harry shrugged. "Sometimes the simplest ones are the best."

"Ha, lame." Duo grabbed another doughnut and began talking. "Well, here's how thing's are gonna go for a little while. We're not going to be allowed any missions for a couple weeks as we're new partners. Une likes all her partners to know and trust each other before sendin'em out."

Harry nodded. That was sensible.

"So we're going to spend sometime getting to know each other, training together, hanging out. Just becoming good'ol pals. Once we do that, we'll be given a small, easy mission to do to see how we work together."

"What happens if we don't work well together?"

"Well one of us will get the boot and I can promise ya it ain't gonna be me." Duo winked at him.

"Well I guess it's a good thing for me you're so easy to get along with."

Duo laughed and threw himself into his chair, spinning around dramatically. His braid flapped around him. "So we should start by getting to know one another. Where you from?" Duo asked.

"London. I grew up near the city. Where are you from?"

"L2. Best colony there is."

"You used to be a Gundam pilot, right?"

Duo stopped spinning and rested his elbows on the desk. "Who told you that?"

Harry started. "Er… I thought everyone knew."

"Heh. Well, maybe not _everyone_, but I guess you're right, it's not really a secret."

"What was it like? Piloting that giant machine?"

"You're getting really personal real quick, James. Hey, wait a sec!" Duo blinked at him. "Are you saying you've never piloted a mobile suit?"

"No. Actually I've never seen one up close, only from a distance."

"What?!" Duo leapt from his seat. "That's crazy talk! We'll have'ta fix that!" Duo grabbed Harry's arm and hauled him from his seat. "Mission get to know my new, cute partner is a go! Part one, show him some awesome mobile suits!"

Harry smiled slightly as he allowed Duo to drag him out of the office. He had wanted to see a mobile suit since he arrived and maybe seeing them would take his mind off of George. So with that hope, Harry followed Duo, nodding absently at the man's endless chatter.

* * *

Hermione lifted her glass with a small cheer and smiled at her boss across from her. Sally leaned back in her chair and grinned, sipping at her cup of tea that was more rum than tea.

"I'm so glad our part in this tedious reconstruction act is over," Sally said.

"Even if we only reconnect one family, I think it was all worth it," Hermione replied.

Sally took another drink and nodded. "Of course. Don't get me wrong, Jean, I'm proud of what we've been doing. I'm just so tired of looking over old medical files and punching them into the computer. I'll be glad to get back to seeing patients again."

Hermione fiddled with her cup. "I've been meaning to ask you about that, Sally. Will I also be seeing patients?"

"Hmm…" Sally sat forward, her face thoughtful. "You're only a fourth year medical student correct? You haven't finished your degree work?"

"No ma'am. I put it on hold to come here and work for you."

"Well in that case I don't see why you can't pick it up again. You can be my resident until you finish your schooling and become licensed."

Hermione smiled. "That would be wonderful, Sally. Thank you."

Sally laughed. "Jean, if you're as thorough and hardworking with patients as you have been for all this paperwork, you're going to become just the excuse I need to retire early."

"Absolutely not," Hermione declared. "I am not having Lady Une blaming me for the loss of her best doctor. I don't need that kind of stress."

Sally threw her head back and laughed a little harder than necessary. Her cheeks were slightly red and Hermione could tell the woman was tipsy. Maybe that was the key to this mission; get Sally drunk, steal her card key, and rummage through classified files while she was passed out.

Eventually Sally decided she had too much drink and it was time to go home. Hermione made sure she called a cab before biding goodnight to the woman. As she stood on the street watching the taxi drive away, Hermione allowed herself to sigh. She was slightly warm from her drink but it was still a cold night.

Right now Ron was at St. Mungo's with the Weasley family watching over his brother. She felt so horribly guilty that she wasn't there with him and knew Harry was feeling the same way. But they had to stay behind or risk making the Preventers suspicious.

Hermione sighed again and leaned against the building to look up into the sky. Lightning was flashing every few minutes but even if it wasn't about to storm, she knew she wouldn't be able to see the stars. She missed sitting at out in the garden at the Burrow with Ron and Harry, just talking and laughing and staring at the sky. She couldn't remember the last time the three of them had been apart for so long. Even if they were all working on the same mission, they were isolated.

Warmth on her wrist had Hermione glancing around the street before slipping into an alley. She pulled off her bracelet and stretched it large enough to see Harry's face. "Hullo Harry," Hermione greeted, a little subdued.

Harry frowned. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"You're worried about Ron."

She nodded mutely.

"I just contacted him. We only talked for a second; I just wanted to make sure he was okay."

"Is he?"

"Not really, but what else could you expect?"

Hermione sighed and nodded. "I want to be with him so badly."

"I know, me too. But we've got to focus on the mission. The sooner we finish the sooner we can get home."

Hermione nodded and took a deep breath. She straitened her back and nodded once more with determination. "You're right, Harry. I was talking to Sally today and she has decided to make me her resident now that we've finished all the paperwork for the Family Reconstruction Act."

"A resident is a doctor, right?"

"Yes. It's a doctor who has not officially finished their degree so they still need supervision but is considered skilled and advanced enough to see patients on their own."

Harry's image nodded. "That's really great news, Hermione, but are you qualified to do this? I mean, I know you are in the wizarding world, but do you know enough about muggle medicine to get by?"

"I'm going to have to study up on the various newer medicines but I think I can manage it. While studying magical healing I also made it point to learn muggle methods as well. Wizards need to learn that just because muggle methods are different doesn't mean they are wrong. I may not be quite up to par, but I can get myself there."

Harry smiled. "You're idea of 'up to par' is probably the rest of the world's above average standards." Hermione scowled at him but Harry ignored it. "I was also assigned a new partner today."

"Oh? I thought you and Kron were getting along nicely. You spoke highly of him."

"We do but Iien's been assigned to work with new recruits on and off the battlefield while Duo Maxwell agreed to take me on as his new partner."

"Former Gundam pilot Duo Maxwell? As in one of the top people in this agency?"

"That would be the one."

"Oh Merlin, Harry, that's wonderful news! With you in such a strategic position we'll be able to access classified information and complete the mission!"

Harry shook his head. "I appreciate the vote of confidence but I'm still considered a trainee. I don't have clearance to anything except the top floors because Duo's office is up there."

"It's still a start. You and I are now one step closer to where we need to be."

"Yeah, it only took us four and half months to get here." Harry's image faded for a moment. "Someone's here, I've gotta go."

"Keep in contact. Good luck, Harry."

"You too. And be careful!"

Hermione slipped her bracelet back on and it immediately shrank to fit her wrist like a glove. She peered around the corner and saw that the street was clear. It was starting to rain so she slipped deeper into the alley before apparating back to her private dorm room. As she started to slip her jacket off, Hermione paused and stared at the red stone that was Ron's. It glowed dimly and she brought it up to her lips.

"I hope you're doing okay," she whispered and kissed the stone gently before getting ready for bed.

* * *

Harry replaced his bracelet and grabbed a book from his desk and sat on his bed trying to look casual. To his surprise, the person he could hear walking down the hall didn't come in, but knocked on the door instead. Harry had thought it was Iien, returning from his trip out to celebrate his new promotion. Harry had declined to go with him, stating he really wasn't the club type.

Tossing the book aside, Harry made his way to the door and peered through the peep hole. To his shock, Duo was standing in the hallway, rocking back and forth on his heels. He was whistling a tune and Harry was sure his eyes were more mischievous than normal.

Harry unlocked the door and opened it.

"Duo, what are you doing here?"

"Heya new partner!" Duo grinned widely. "I wasn't sure if you'd be here. I thought for sure you'd be out celebrating the promotion."

"Er… I'm not really the celebrating type, to be honest."

The braided man raised an eyebrow. "Reeeeealy?"

Harry shrugged. "I prefer staying in and celebrating with my friends quietly."

Duo peered past Harry into the dorm. "And where are all your friends?"

"Oh, well they're out… celebrating."

"So you're friends are out celebrating your promotion without you?"

Harry flushed slightly. "It's Iien's promotion as well and he's with them." Duo laughed. "Did you want something?"

"Don't get all cranky." Duo invited himself in. "So this is your place? Kinda small."

"New guys don't exactly get big rooms. But make yourself at home, I have tea, if you'd like."

"Blah. I hate British's obsession with tea. It's so gross."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You're like some weird American who drinks pounds of soda, aren't you?"

"If its got sugar, I'm drinking it!" Duo laughed.

Harry began making some tea for himself. "Well all I have is water and tea. I can run to the store and get you something if you like."

"Or we could just go out for a drink."

"I don't drink."

Duo grumbled in annoyance. "Fine, how about this then? I'll take you to… a fast food place. Patty Queen's is still open at this time of night."

Harry paused and thought about the offer. He never really had any desire to go to a fast food joint. After seeing what a steady diet of junk did to Dudley, Harry had always been rather turned off by the idea of a processed meal. However, Duo was just trying to be nice and celebrate with him.

"I've never been to a fast food place before," Harry admitted.

Duo gave him a blank stare. "That's a lie."

"No, it isn't. I've just never had any desire for something unhealthy like that."

"First you tell me you don't like doughnuts, then you say you've never seen a mobile suit, now you claim that you've never had fast food? You're killing me, kid." Duo jumped up and snatched Harry's coat. "Let's go!"

"Go where?"

"Gah!" Duo threw his shoes at him. "Where do you think? Outside in the _world_. We're gonna teach you how to live _outside_ the box. We'll start with fast food."

Harry sighed to himself as he slipped his shoes on and allowed Duo to drag him away.

* * *

The next morning Harry glanced around the indoor training room. Weight machines were set up to the left and a small track for running wrapped around the entire room. A balance beam and gymnastic bars were surrounded by mats near the center of the room and punching bags were hanging from the ceiling to the left. Though Harry preferred exercising outside, it was currently raining. Duo had called and told Harry to meet him here.

Harry tossed his water bottle down and began stretching. It wasn't long before Duo appeared, his loud voice echoing clear across the room. He was dressed in sweats and walking with Trowa Barton. Harry didn't know Trowa very well, only meeting him once, but he seemed nice enough, just quiet. Duo spotted him and waved Harry over.

"There you are new-partner," he grinned. "You remember Trowa, right?"

"Yeah, good to see again."

Trowa nodded politely.

"Okay, so today I want to see what you can do," Duo said. "Heero says you're adequate which is pretty damn good praise from him. So get warmed up and let's see what you got."

After having spent last evening out with Duo, Harry was in a good mood this morning and smiled playfully at his new partner. "I'm okay with that, but what about you? How do I know _you're_ good enough to partner with _me_?"

Duo burst out laughing while Trowa's lip twitched slightly. "Hah, that's a good one kid."

"Come on," Harry insisted. "Show me what you got. Let's have a spar."

"I don't want to embarrass you on your first day."

Harry shrugged. "That's funny, I was thinking I didn't want to make a bad impression by beating you up. Tell you what, I'll go easy on you. I'll only use one hand."

Duo just shook his head. "You're asking for it, kid."

Harry turned to Trowa. "Is he always this scared when someone challenges him?"

Duo looked affronted. "Who you callin' a coward? Fine, you want to get your ass kicked so bad, I'll be happy to help you out."

Smiling, Harry followed Duo to the back of the room where mats were laid out. Harry knew he shouldn't brag so much but it was all in good fun. He doubted he could beat Duo without magic but it would be enjoyable to see how good he was against a master of hand to hand combat. He would enjoy the challenge.

"You okay with taking your shoes off?" Duo asked, gesturing at the mats. Harry nodded and removed his shoes. The two stood in the center and Trowa decided to watch from the sidelines. He was curious to see how long this boy would last. He certainly talked as if he had skill.

"Okay, so I'm doing this one-handed, right?" Harry teased.

Duo rolled his eyes and without warning surged forward. Harry was barely able to dodge and jumped back twice quickly. Duo smirked but paused and let Harry get his footing back. The teen frowned in annoyance. He slid his foot back slightly before using it propel himself forward, his fist striking out. Duo slid to the side and grabbed his arm, intending to flip him, but Harry saw the move coming. As soon as Duo grabbed him he used his left foot to shove himself sideways while twisting his body around. Duo was forced to let go and jump back or risk getting flipped by Harry.

They both stepped back, regaining their starting positions. Duo's eyes were alight with mischief at Harry's move. He attacked again, this time aiming for Harry's feet. Harry jumped and kicked out, twisting in the air. Duo caught his foot and shoved. Harry landed awkwardly and Duo used the opportunity to land a hit to the teen's stomach. Harry grunted and stumbled back, rubbing his stomach.

Duo didn't say anything as he bounced on his heels, a large grin on his face. This time Harry attacked first. He ran straight but feinted right before he could get within striking distance. Duo followed his movements, bringing his hands up in defense. Harry surprised him though by jumping forward into a somersault and using his arm to swipe at his legs. Duo barely managed to jump into a back flip, landing on one hand and springing backwards from Harry's follow up attack. The teen kept pressing his advantage, keeping Duo on the defensive. Duo dodge to the left but Harry saw it coming and kicked out, catching Duo in the stomach. Duo gasped slightly while Harry backed off, giving him a chance to recover.

Now it was Harry's turn to smile but to his confusion, Duo's grin just widened. He titled his head slightly in curiosity. Harry had never seen anyone smile after getting kicked to the stomach. He frowned and launched forward again. Duo didn't try and dodge the attack and instead caught Harry's fist. He held it long enough to get inside Harry's defenses before headbutting him in the head. Harry stumbled back with a cry of pain and surprise.

The spar continued for a few more minutes and Harry never landed a hit on Duo again. It didn't take long before Harry realized how outmatched he was. He could keep up with Duo's attacks but could never do anything more than defend. His instincts had been right; without magic Harry was no match for his new partner. When they finally called it quits, Harry was breathing hard and sweating. He plopped down on the mat and pouted up at Duo, who barely looked out of breath.

"That was fun!" Duo said. "You're better than I thought."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Gee thanks."

"Hey don't be like that. You kept up. That's a lot more than most people can say when fighting me."

"I guess I should be happy you pulled your punches," Harry commented. "Heero never did."

"Oh yeah he did," Duo laughed. "Trust me. If Heero hit you for real you'd still be in the hospital recovering. Guy's got inhuman strength."

Harry made a face which served to amuse Duo even more. The braided man held his hand out and pulled Harry to his feet.

"This was fun. There's a few things we need to work on before you're up to my standards but at least you're not as bad as I thought."

Not sure if that was an insult or compliment, Harry didn't answer. He glanced over Duo's shoulder just in time to see Trowa swing himself off the top bar of the gymnastic equipment. He flew into the air and spun around so rapidly Harry felt nausea just watching it. Trowa flipped once in the air before landing flawlessly.

Harry's jaw dropped slightly. "Holy crap..."

Duo glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "What Trowa? Yeah he likes to show off sometimes."

"You guys are insane!" Harry exclaimed. "I mean, I knew you were good but..."

Duo wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder. "Yeah, we're the elite. Now stop gawking and let's get to work. You've got a long way to go if you want to keep up with us."

Feeling excited, Harry happily followed Duo to the weight machines.

* * *

A week passed quickly and soon Ron was back with news that George was fine, physically. Harry was fully prepared to tell Duo he needed time off but Ron told him to forget it. George was refusing to see anyone. By the end of the week he had even refused to see Molly. The therapist explained to the family that this was normal and he was just feeling ashamed and embarrassed. They needed to give him time before bombarding him with well-wishers or even too many family members. So with great frustration and disappointment, Harry and Hermione agreed not to go see him.

Luckily for them, they both had new promotions to distract them. Hermione was zealously studying up on muggle medicine while Duo was running Harry ragged with training. The guy was as tough as Heero, he just happened to crack as many jokes as he did orders. Ron congratulated them and expressed his desire to finish the mission faster than ever. Harry and Hermione agreed.

Currently, Ron was bracing himself for his first day back after his impromptu vacation. He entered the computer room the team always worked in and found Quatre sitting with Thomas. They looked up as he shut the door behind him.

"Arthur!" Quatre smiled in greeting. "Welcome back."

"Hey guys, I'm back."

"How is your brother?"

Ron shrugged, not wanting to talk about it. Quatre understood and didn't ask any further. He gestured at a chair and Ron sat.

"Well we're glad to have you back. We haven't been doing anything new."

"Terry disappeared the day after you left!" Thomas announced, and then immediately ducked his head in embarrassment.

"He disappeared?" Ron asked in surprise.

"Not so much," Quatre shrugged casually. "He left, though." The blonde tilted his head towards Thomas and shook his head. Ron got the message and nodded.

"Well good riddance. Now maybe we can get more done instead of fighting with him all the time."

"Oh I don't know, I rather enjoyed your and his debates. They were always so heated and interesting."

Ron rolled his eyes as Thomas spoke quietly. "I agree with Arthur. I think you have to worry about the soldiers. After all, if we don't, who will?"

"Exactly mate," Ron grinned. Thomas couldn't hide his surprise that Ron agreed with him or called him "mate." He ducked his head and looked away.

"Well let's to get to work," Quatre said. "With both you and Terry gone, Thomas and I have had plenty of time to get to know each other but it will be nice to have a third mind to bounce ideas off of."

The three worked through the day comfortably with each other. Ron didn't contribute much and Thomas was too shy to offer many ideas either. As such, Quatre spent most of the day lecturing them both and explaining various battles. When they were finished, Thomas left but Quatre asked Ron to stay back for a few minutes.

"Thank you for letting me go home, Quatre," Ron said earnestly. "I really appreciate it."

"Of course, Arthur. I have twenty-nine sisters so I know how important family is."

Ron stared at him. "You have _what_?"

Quatre laughed. "It's a long story. I want you to know that if you need to talk, I am always available, you simply need to come find me."

Ron suddenly felt horribly guilty. Quatre had been nothing but kind and understanding. He was good-natured person who genuinely seemed to care about the people around him. Ron couldn't help but feel horrible for how he was deceiving him.

"Arthur?"

Ron shook himself of his thoughts. He had to focus. It was like Harry had said a while ago. They weren't here to hurt anyone; just protect the wizarding world.

"I'm all right. So, what happened to Terry?"

Quatre frowned thoughtfully and leaned back in his seat. "Well I can't tell you the whole story because of privacy issues but the basic gist of it is that he's been asked to leave."

Ron lifted an eyebrow. "_Asked_ to leave?"

"Apparently he has had some discipline problems with his bunkmates in the barracks. He also has been very harsh to Thomas despite my repeated requests for him to be careful with him."

Ron sat forward in shock. "He was mean to that kid?! How could you possibly be mean to that kid?!"

"He wasn't doing it intentionally, which is why I only warned him. You know Terry's personality, he's…"

"A git."

Quatre frowned in disapproval but didn't bother correcting Ron. "But the problems with his bunkmates became too much and he was assigned a different room. Apparently Terry didn't want to move and raised a fuss to get his bunkmates moved instead and things just escalated from there. After you confronted him, some rather inappropriate things were said and I realized there would be no changing his way of thinking. He will always have the mindset that soldiers are expendable and that is unacceptable to me."

Ron nodded. "Wow, I leave for a week and everything changes."

Quatre surveyed Ron for a moment. "Arthur, you live in the barracks, don't you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well I have a proposition for you. And before I ask, please know that is absolutely okay for you to tell me no. There is no obligation whatsoever."

Ron frowned. "What do you need?"

"Would you be willing to leave the barracks and move into a small apartment with Thomas? I would pay for it, of course."

Ron was surprised. "I thought recruits weren't allowed to live on our own? We have to be in the barracks."

Quatre smiled. "Well, that's one more bit of change. You have proven to me that you are a brilliant strategist. And the day you found out about your brother you still managed to finish your task despite being severely emotionally compromised. That is what I was looking for. I need someone who can continue his job even when extremely distressed. You've proven that you can do that and so I would like to offer you a promotion."

Ron blinked and slowly started to smile. "You're promoting me?"

"Yes. As of now, we have been reviewing old strategies and making different plans for battles that are long ended. If you accept this promotion, you will have access to current missions and information that the Preventers are gathering. You will work under my supervision to analyze intelligence our field teams are sending us now. Things such as the activities of criminal organizations we are watching or possible terrorist threats. It would be a great amount of responsibility."

"I'm in," Ron agreed without hesitation. "I would love this promotion."

Quatre grinned and clapped his hands together. "Excellent! I'll get the paperwork started right away! Now that only leaves the matter of Thomas…"

Ron squirmed slightly in his seat. "Quatre, it's not that I don't like the kid, I'm just not very good…"

"You don't have to take care of him, he's very self-sufficient. I would just feel more comfortable if he was no longer in the barracks. He's so shy and fragile, the rough recruits he bunks with are just a little overwhelming for him."

"Have you found out anything about him yet?"

"Yes, but that is private information. I'm afraid I can't share it."

Ron nodded quickly. "I get it. Er… well I guess I don't see a problem. I wouldn't mind getting out of the barracks too, so yeah. This is okay with me."

"Excellent!" Quatre clapped once again. "The only stipulation is that you ask Thomas and not mention that I asked you in the first place."

"What?"

"It would do wonders for his self-confidence if he believed you asked him to move in with you without any prompting from me."

Ron sighed. "All right, I guess I don't mind."

"Thank you, Arthur, this means a lot."

Ron shrugged. "Thank you for promoting me, that means a lot!"

"You earned it."

* * *

**A/N: Okay so question for everyone. I update once a week pretty reliably but at the moment I have enough written to update twice a week for a couple weeks. Would that be too often? I know when I'm reading something if it updates too often I get too far behind and then I stop reading. I know, I'm probably the weird one for being like that. **

**Really the point is, I've written up to chapter twelve and I'm kinda slowing down. I would really like to catch everyone up so lovely reviews can help the thought process and move me along. At the same time, I don't want to overload anyone. What's your opinion on this matter and this chapter or the story in general?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So I loved the creative way so many of you said yes to more frequent updates. Really, some of them were just inspired. As you can tell, I've decided to update more frequently but on one condition! You guys can't slack of with your reviews! ;) I don't want anyone going yay I have two chapters to read but then only reviewing one of those chapters! Review them both!**

**So this chapter is Duo and Harry going on their first mission with a little bit of dragons thrown in. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Nine: First Mission**

Harry stared at the controls of a deactivated mobile suit. There were so many switches and buttons and displays that Harry really couldn't make heads or tails of the machine. Duo was balanced in the entrance of the suit, grinning widely at Harry's awed face.

"Pretty cool, right?"

"It is," Harry agreed. "I don't know what half this stuff does."

"Well don't go pushing buttons. It may be deactivated but that doesn't mean you can't screw it up."

"Go it."

Duo sighed wistfully. "It's too bad we don't use these anymore. I miss being a pilot." He held out his hand and pulled Harry out of the cockpit. They both slid down the mobile suit and left the hanger.

"You don't usually talk about your time as a pilot," Harry said.

Duo shrugged. "I try not to think about it. I was only a pilot during the war and I don't like to remember that."

Harry nodded. "I understand."

Duo grabbed Harry into a headlock. "What would you know about wars, Mr. Rebel?"

"Let go!" Harry managed to push Duo away. "You know I hate it when you do that."

"Yeah but it's fun!" Duo laughed. Harry rolled his eyes and Duo smirked mischievously. He leapt in front of Harry and shoved his face as close as he could to the younger man's. Harry stumbled backward in surprise and bumped into the wall.

"Duo!" Harry yelled.

Duo cackled and skipped away down the hall. "You're so fun to mess with!" he called over his shoulder. Harry clenched his fists and forced himself to breathe through his nose.

"Having fun?" a voice asked from behind him.

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. He whipped around and came face to face with an amused looking Iien.

"Please don't sneak up on me. I get it enough from that guy." He gestured after Duo with a scowl and Iien laughed.

"I could never sneak up on you in training so it's kinda fun to do it now. Where you heading?"

"Mess hall, though I'm not that hungry anymore."

"What a coincidence, that's where I'm heading." Iien rested an arm casually around Harry's shoulders. "I'll join ya. We haven't gotten to talk much over the last couple weeks. You always come back to the room and pass out in bed."

"Duo's a slave driver," Harry sighed. "He's worse than Wufei and Heero."

"I don't believe it."

"It's true!" Harry turned pleading eyes to Iien, as if asking him to save him. "He's so eager to get back to doing missions that he's running me into the ground to get me up to his standard!"

"I would have thought you enjoyed the challenge."

"I did, at first. Now I'm just exhausted."

Iien laughed good-naturedly and Harry hung his head in mock defeat. They entered the mess hall to find Duo chatting away with Heero and Wufei at a table. Iien steered Harry over, chuckling at Harry's groan.

"You wanna trade jobs?"

"No," Iien shook his head. "Do you have any idea how much easier training is without these guys around? It's a breeze."

"I wouldn't know."

Duo grinned at the two as they joined them at the table. "What are you whining about?"

Iien smiled right back. "His job, Agent Maxwell, you're being too rough with him. James is new to this. You gotta take it slow, ease him into things. You can't just jump right in and go straight for it."

Duo's eyes lit up and his smile became devilish. Iien returned the look with a smirk of his own. Harry glanced between the two with a growing sense of unease.

"But slow just isn't my style. I like to do things fast and intense."

"I can get behind that." Iien smirked wider and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "But I think it might be too much for the inexperienced."

Harry leaned away from Iien's hand slowly, staring at the two suspiciously. "Why do I get the feeling you just made my life harder?"

"Because he did," Wufei answered from Harry's right. Harry jerked around to look at him.

"If his behavior becomes a problem, you may ask for my assistance," Heero stated stoically across from Harry. Harry looked between the two before plopping his head on the table. Whatever just happened was bad enough that Wufei and Heero pitied him; Harry had never felt so screwed in his life.

* * *

The weekend came and went and Harry felt refreshed Monday morning walking to Duo's office. Pityingly, Duo had let Harry have the whole weekend off from training to relax and recuperate. As a result, Harry was quite cheerful when he entered Duo's office and found the older man swirling in his chair.

"Good morning, Duo," Harry greeted, taking a seat.

Duo stopped spinning. "What's up, James? I have wonderful news!" Duo leaned forward with grin. "We finally get a mission." He tossed a folder Harry's way.

"Really?" Harry grabbed the folder and opened it, reading the contents excitedly.

"It's nothing extravagant. We'll be doing recon work in the southern part of the Arabian Desert. Originally Quatre was going to go with Trowa, but something business related came up so I jumped in and snagged it for us."

"What kind of recon?" Harry asked.

"Well that's the interesting part. People have been reporting seeing things in the desert for awhile now. We ignored it at first because it was a bunch of tourists filling the reports and we figured it was just too much sun exposure making them see things. But when the locals started complaining, we started paying attention. I mean, these are people who were born and raised in the desert; they know the difference between mirages and something actually being there."

"What have people been reporting?"

"Giant birds." Harry stared at him, thinking Duo was joking. Duo however, just shrugged. "That's what they say."

"Are there any 'giant birds' native to the desert?"

"Just vultures, as far as I know. But the things they're describing are way bigger than that. One person even compared them to pictures of pterodactyls."

"People are claiming to see dinosaurs and we're going to go look into it?"

Duo shrugged. "You never know in this crazy world."

"There are a lot of secrets in this world but dinosaurs are not one of them."

Duo winked at him. "Guess we'll just have to go and find out."

* * *

Duo was so excited to get out of the office that he barely gave Harry a chance to pack a bag before dragging him to a car that was waiting to take them to the airport. Harry had thought Duo might calm down when they entered the crowds but the braided man continued to bounce along, talking loudly about anything and everything. Due to the two being Preventor agents, they didn't have to wait in line or go through security checks. The airport workers ushered them through the crowds and seated them on the plane in first class.

Duo stretched back in his seat, waving a drink from the stewardess. She offered it to Harry instead, who took it with a small smile and whispered thanks. Once she was gone, Duo turned to Harry with a grin.

"You ever flown before, James?"

"Not on a plane," Harry answered.

"Well don't be nervous," Duo laughed. "These things are one hundred percent safe. Usually."

Harry rolled his eyes at his partner's attempt to scare him. He had flown on his broomstick and even a Griffin before, he was not the least bit worried about flying on a plane.

They took off minutes later and the pilot's voice over the speakers informed them they would be arriving at their destination in six hours. Duo groaned at how slow the plane was and wished he had his Gundam back. If he still had Death Scythe they would have been there in three.

The ride was long and boring for both agents. Harry entertained himself with the in-flight movies while Duo took to going to the restroom every ten minutes for an excuse to stretch his legs. Eventually the plane landed and both Harry and Duo got off as quickly as they could.

It was midday and the desert was extremely hot. Harry had to shield his eyes with his hand from the bright glare. Duo pulled a hat from his luggage and tossed it on Harry's head. Harry thanked him gracefully and grabbed his bag, following Duo out of the airport. A car was waiting to pick them up; the driver was a tall, dark skinned man with a large grin wearing black circle sunglasses. He greeted Duo with hard pat on the shoulder.

"Hey, Master Duo, it's great to see you again!"

"You too, Abdul. Thanks for meeting us."

"Of course, of course! Anything for a friend of Master Quatre's. Are you ready to go? The location of the 'dinosaur' sightings is about half an hour into the desert." Abdul helped toss their belongings in the jeep.

"Are people really claiming to see dinosaurs?" Duo asked.

"Apparently. Sounds like some desert hallucinations to me."

The ride into the dessert was a bumpy one. Harry held onto the jeep tightly as he was tossed around the door-less vehicle. He was positive he would have been thrown out by now if not for the fact that he wore a seatbelt. Duo was in front and seemed to be enjoying the bouncy ride. The air was hot and even the breeze from the drive was warm enough to make Harry sweat.

Finally, after a half hour, Abdul brought the jeep to a screeching halt. He jumped from the car with Duo and took a deep breath. "Ah, I love the desert!"

Duo laughed at the disgruntled look on Harry's face. Harry certainly didn't like the desert.

"Well this way. Most sightings have occurred over near the sand mound."

How Abdul could tell one sand mound from the next was beyond Harry but he followed the two men without a complaint. They were barely halfway up the mound and before Harry felt himself getting winded. The sand sucked at his feet every time he took a step.

When he finally made it to the top, Harry was a little put out to discover that neither of the other men were tired from the climb. He expected Abdul to be used to walking in the sand, but shouldn't Duo at least be struggling?

"I don't see anything." Duo sounded distinctly disappointed.

Harry turned his eyes towards the desert and had to stifle a gasp. Sprawled throughout the sand was a large dragon. It was covered in green scales with folded leather wings and a long snout. Its tail was spiked and claws razor sharp. The dragon was sitting curled around three empty eggs shells. The shells looked old and there was no sign of the babies.

"Well let's take a closer look."

Before Harry could protest, Duo slid his way down the sand dune, closer to the dragon mother. Panicked, Harry quickly followed his lead.

"Hey, maybe we should be careful!" Harry called out nervously.

"Careful of what? There's nothing here! No pterodactyls, no flying birds, just sand, sand, and more sand."

Duo came to a stop a mere hundred yards from the dragon. Much to Harry's growing horror, the dragon opened a single eye. She spotted Duo and shakily lifted her head.

"Duo, if there's nothing here we should go!" Harry called quickly. The dragon shifted her attention to him and Harry froze. His previous experiences with dragons had all been dangerous ones. The dragon seemed surprised when she realized Harry was looking at her and not through her, as Duo was. She pulled her lips back and snarled.

"Did you hear that?" Duo asked. He looked around, his hand automatically falling to his hip where his gun was hidden.

Harry gulped and, unlike Duo, kept his hands far away from his weapons. He took a small step backwards, hoping to show the dragon he was no threat to her. This seemed to appease the beast as she stopped growling.

"I didn't hear anything, Duo," Harry said, fighting to keep his voice calm. "There's nothing here, let's go back to the city."

"I heard something. It sounded like growling."

"I heard it too, Master Duo," Abdul said. He was looking around worriedly with his hand also resting on his gun.

"Well I didn't hear anything and think we're wasting our time," Harry said firmly. The dragon's eyes were trained firmly on him.

Suddenly, a loud screech pierced through the air. The three looked up in surprise and saw three large birds flying towards them. Harry immediately knew that the baby dragons has returned, probably from hunting, and his panic increased ten times. The mother dragon slowly began to stand, causing sand to fall from her body. As she stood, Harry realized her wing was damaged. That explained why the dragons were so close to the muggle city; the mother couldn't fly. And if Harry remembered correctly some species of dragon had the ability to hide themselves from non-magical eyes. This mother dragon was probably using her magic to hide herself but didn't have enough power to hide her babies while she was hurt, leaving the young dragons visible to muggle eyes.

"What's happening?" Duo shouted as sand rained down on his head. "A sandstorm?"

"But there's no wind!" Abdul shouted back.

The mother dragon flapped her good wing once, practically blowing everyone off their feet. The baby dragons landed by their mother, making snarling sounds at the three invading humans. One baby snapped its jaw towards Duo but Harry was able to pull him out of the way before the dragon but him.

"What's going on?" Duo shouted.

"I don't know!" Harry yelled. The dragons began to flap their wings, causing more sand to kick up. Harry cast a spell to protect his eyes and was able to see better. Duo and Abdul had their faces covered with their arms and their eyes barely open. A baby dragon lunged for them again but this time Harry cast a quick shield charm. The baby dragon screeched in displeasure as it hit an invisible barrier with its teeth.

"We have to get out of here!" Duo yelled. "We can't see anything in this storm!"

They started to head in the direction of their jeep, Harry bringing up their rear and keeping a close eye on the dragons, who were still creating a storm. The babies didn't try and attack again as they watched the humans hurry away. They weren't looking for a fight, they were just trying to protect their mother.

As soon as the three made it to the other side of the sand mound, the sand storm stopped and everyone was able to breathe again. Harry coughed, trying to spit sand out of his dry mouth. Duo was shaking his head, scowling at all the dust flying from his hair.

"That's the strangest sand storm I've ever seen!" Duo said.

"Aye!" Abdul agreed. "It came out of nowhere and stopped as quickly as it started! In all my years in the desert I've never seen anything like it!"

"Did anyone see where the growling was coming from?" Harry and Abdul shook their heads. "Alright, we need to get back to town. We're going to grab some sandstorm gear and come back out here first thing tomorrow morning. We need to get a better look around."

Abdul nodded and lead the way back to the jeep. Harry kept glancing over his shoulder, making sure the dragons didn't follow. He didn't relax until they were back within the walls of the city and pulling up in front of their hotel for the night.

* * *

That night, Harry grabbed his communicator and told Duo he was going to take an extra-long shower because of all the sand and sweat. Duo laughed and teased him that there was no point, as they were heading back into the desert first thing in the morning. As soon as Harry had locked the bathroom door, he turned the shower on and opened his communicator. It wasn't long before Kingsley Shacklebolt answered, looking concerned.

"Agent, you're not due to report in for another three days."

"I was sent on a mission by the Preventers to the Arabian desert," Harry whispered. "They've been getting reports of large birds being spotted out here; turns out its dragons."

"Dragons?!" the minster exclaimed.

"Yeah, a mother and three new babies. The mother's hurt and can't fly but she is using magic to hide herself from sight. We were standing a hundred yards away and the muggles couldn't see her, but they could hear her."

"And the babies?"

"They don't have the control of their magic yet, so everyone can see them. You have to send someone out tonight, Minister, we plan on going back out first thing in the morning to look again."

"Very well, I'll see to it immediately. Good work, Agent." Kingsley cut the communication without another word. Harry sighed in relief. Hopefully the ministry would be able to get the dragons to safety during the night so there wouldn't be anything for Duo to find in the morning.

With that out of the way, Harry quickly showered. He put his shirt back on and toweled dried his hair. Duo had been right, there really wasn't a point in taking a shower. The desert sand was everywhere, including in his supposedly clean towel. With a sigh, Harry left the bathroom. Duo was in the process of changing and stood in front of his bed, his shirt pulled over his arms and his back bare. Harry stopped and stared, taking in the smooth skin covered with light scars. The long braid fell down his back and Harry had the urge to run his fingers over it. Duo's muscles were well-defined and rippled as he moved.

"See something you like, kid?"

Harry blushed as he realized he'd been staring and Duo had caught him. He turned away. "Sorry."

"No problem, I always love the attention."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Of course you do." He tossed his towel on the bed and flopped down, scowling when he felt tiny grains of sands on the blanket. "There is sand everywhere!"

"Yeah, we're in the middle of a desert."

Harry groaned and threw the light covers off the bed. "Why are there blankets? It's so hot."

"The desert gets pretty cold at night. You'll be happy for them later." Duo picked up the discarded covers and folded them at the foot of the bed. Harry grumbled and curled up.

"I can't wait until this mission over. What a lame place to get sent for our first mission."

"Geez kid, you always this whiny?" Duo lay out on his bed. "It's just sand."

"But it's everywhere!" Harry sighed. "I'm sorry for whining. Usually I'm much more pleasant."

"I don't doubt ya." Duo winked at him before making himself comfortable. "Best way to handle it is not think about it. You'll never beat the sand so just relax and accept it."

Harry grumbled while switching the light off. He could think of a couple of spells to make the sand go away. Maybe after Duo went to sleep he'd be able to cast them. But even though Harry tried to stay awake later, he still fell asleep long before Duo.

* * *

The next morning, Duo threw a pillow at Harry's head to wake him up. Harry, startled, practically ripped the pillow in half and scowled as Duo laughed at him.

"Hurry up sleeping beauty, we have work to do."

Harry grumbled but obediently crawled from bed and began to dress. Duo disappeared while he got ready and returned with a small breakfast of fruit that was native to the area. Harry ate the small meal without complaint as he followed Duo downstairs. Abdul was waiting for them once again with the jeep.

"Did you get the stuff?" Duo asked cheerfully.

"Yes sir!" Abdul opened two duffle bags revealing long ponchos, gloves, a couple bandannas, and goggles. "Anything you need to survive a sandstorm, if one happens to start up again."

"Good." Duo began pulling the equipment out and handing it to Harry. "Make sure your weapon is in a good spot so if you have to draw it, the poncho won't get in the way."

Harry did as instructed. It only took a few minutes before the three were geared up and traveling through the desert again. Harry was surprised to notice that the sand gear actually helped with the heat. It was still unbearably hot, but his skin didn't hurt as much with the cloth giving some protection from the glaring sun. The bandanna was comfortable too, as it helped keep sweat out of his eyes.

The jeep stopped the same place as it had yesterday and three climbed out. Duo checked his weapons briefly before leading the climb up the sand mound. Harry was defiantly unhappy when climbing the sand was just as hard today as it had been yesterday. By the time he reached the other two at the top, Duo was scowling deeply.

"What is it?" Harry asked. He looked out at the desert and saw nothing. There were no dragons, no eggs, no sign that the creatures had been there at all. Harry sighed in relief; the ministry succeeded.

"Something's wrong," Duo muttered. "It doesn't…feel the same as yesterday."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know." Duo scowled, his eyes scanning the sandy landscape. "Yesterday it felt like something was here. Like there was a something hiding just out of sight. That feeling's gone now." Duo shook his head. "Abdul, head west and look for anything. James, you go east. I'll go north. Keep in visual contact at all times, especially you, James. If you get stuck in the sand, call for help. I'm not having you sinking into the desert on our first mission."

"I'm not going to sink," Harry said, pouting slightly.

The three men split into the desert and began searching. Harry was sure to keep the other two within sight at all times. Although he didn't fear getting sucked into the sand, he did worry about getting lost. The entire desert looked the same to him; there were no landmarks to judge position or distance, just sand as far as the eye could see.

Duo didn't have them out searching for long. After an hour of combing the desert, he called the three back in, looking unhappy. "Well what was here yesterday is gone now."

"Are we heading back?" Harry asked.

Duo wrinkled his nose in thought. "Yeah… there's no point in searching on foot. I'll see if we can commission some local helicopters to do an air search for anything." Duo shook his head. "There was defiantly something here yesterday and it's defiantly gone today."

* * *

Duo flopped onto his bed with a disgruntled sigh. In the bed next to him, Harry crossed his legs and waited for an update. It didn't take long before Duo spoke.

"They have two helicopters searching the area in a grid pattern. We'll know if they found anything in a couple hours."

"You don't want to go with them?"

Duo shook his head, sighing. "There's no point. Whatever was in that desert yesterday is long gone, I can feel it." Duo glanced shrewdly at him. "You really didn't hear anything? The growling?"

Harry shook his head negative.

"Even the wind was strange. It was constantly gusting, not blowing. And for it to come out of nowhere like that… strangest sandstorm I've ever seen. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was man-made."

"How can someone make a sandstorm?"

"You'd be surprised how easy it is." Duo sat up, stretching. "But we didn't find any trace of the equipment that would be needed to do it. Not even any evidence that the sand had been dug up or disturbed."

"How would you even be able to tell if it had?"

Duo grinned. "There are signs. But I guess it would be pretty difficult for someone like you who's never even seen the desert before."

"Yeah, never thought I'd see a desert before the ocean."

"You've never seen the ocean?! But you're British!"

Harry shot him a strange look. "So? What does that have to do with the ocean?"

"Britain's an island."

"Well yeah, I've just—"

"Never been to see it. Just like you don't eat doughnuts and have never had fast food." Duo sat up and drew a box in the air with his fingers. "You are here." He pointed to the center of his box. "The rest of the world is out here. You should think about joining us out here sometime, James. Outside of the box is fun."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

* * *

Harry and Duo were back on a plane taking them to Preventer headquarters that night. Just as Duo had predicted, the helicopters had found nothing. He didn't waste any time getting the two back on a plane heading home. He didn't want to stay in the oppressive desert heat any longer than necessary. On the flight back, Duo popped open his laptop and began teaching Harry how to fill out a mission report. Once they had typed everything up, Duo saved it and shut it the computer down.

"Where are you sending it?" Harry asked.

"Hmm…I think this one is going into the weirdo-file."

"The what?"

Duo shrugged. "We have what's called a 'strange or unsolved occurrence' file. Most of us call it a weirdo-file for all the strange and pointless missions, like this one!"

Harry tried to keep his excitement in check. That file sounded _exactly_ like what he was looking for. "Can I see it?"

Duo smirked at him. "Nope. Classified."

"I have clearance."

"Not for this you don't. Why do you want to see it anyway? It's just filled with reports of mission like this one. Boring and a waste of time."

Harry got the feeling that Duo didn't think this mission was a waste of time at all and that he was just playing it off as one. "I like mysteries."

"Ha! Well these aren't mysteries, they're just boring." And with that Duo grabbed some headphones and listened to loud music for the rest of the flight.

**A/N: So these double updates will only before for a few chapters, just until I get everyone caught up. As for this chapter, I really enjoyed the line "See something you like kid?" I don't know why, I just thought it was cute. I thought that whole scene was cute.**

**Well let me know what you think! I'm almost at one hundred reviews, let's make it happen with this update! Thank you!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: So this is a long chapter and soooo good. I'm not very pleased with the writing in the first part, I feel I use the same words too often and the writing is a little choppy. But the second part flows must easier.**

**So long chapter ahead and lots of plot progression. Hence the reason this chapter is called "Progress." Please enjoy!**

**P.S. I know shit about science. I'm sorry for the lack of medical accuracy in this chapter.**

**Chapter Ten: Progress**

A month went by quickly for the trio. Ron moved in to his private apartment with Thomas, who practically cried with joy at being able to get out of the barracks. Hermione continued to work with Dr. Po, and Harry and Duo were scheduled on missions regularly. Even though all three had been promoted fairly quickly, they were all now stuck at a standstill. None of them had an opportunity to raise in the ranks any further and none of them were able to find anything more out about the Weirdo file. They had successfully infiltrated the Preventers, but not at a high enough level to complete their mission.

Currently, Harry was lying on his bed, toying with his bracelet. He and Duo had just returned from a routine surveillance mission. Nothing interesting had happened and Duo had ranted a long time about how boring the missions had been lately. Harry sat up in bed when he heard the door to his room open.

"Hey Iien—are you alright?" Harry jumped to his feet as he spotted his roommate. Iien was smiling sheepishly, his ankle bandaged up, and leaning on Trowa Barton for support. Harry moved out of the way as Trowa helped Iien to the couch.

"I'm fine, the doctors tell me it's just a bad sprain. Thanks Trowa."

"What happened?"

Iien laughed, a little embarrassed. "We were chasing down a criminal and I tripped in a snake hole. Never saw it coming."

Harry winced in sympathy. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry! Because of me and my clumsiness the guy got away!" He glanced at Trowa. "I still don't understand how. One minute he was there, the next he was gone. I mean, I only took my eyes off of him when I fell."

Trowa nodded and spoke softly. "That was why you fell. When pursing an enemy you must be aware of all of your surroundings while never losing track of the target. It is a skill that takes practice."

"I know," Iien sighed. "But it was like he vanished into thin air! There weren't even any footprints to follow!"

Harry frowned and turned to Trowa. "Did you see anything?"

Trowa shook his head. "No… it was peculiar. The target's footprints stopped, as if he never took another step but he himself was no longer there."

"This one is definitely going into the Weirdo File."

Trowa nodded slightly in agreement and Harry perked up. "Do you guys need help with the paperwork? I've gotten pretty good at filing paperwork because Duo hates to do it."

"You actually want to do my paperwork? Go for it!" Iien laughed but stopped when Trowa's disapproving eyes settled on him. "I mean… thanks for the offer James, but I need to do it myself. Paperwork is a very important part of the job and should always be done in a prompt fashion."

"That doesn't sound rehearsed at all," Harry teased.

Iien rolled his eyes. "Hey, speaking of reports, will you get my laptop from Trowa's car downstairs?"

"Sure."

"Thanks man."

Harry slipped his shoes on and followed Trowa out the door. The two stepped on the elevator and Harry pressed the button for the ground floor. He leaned against the wall and looked at Trowa curiously. The older man was at least three inches taller than Harry and had an expressionless face. Harry didn't know him very well; they had never been on a mission together or talked about anything other than work. He really was only on first name basis with him because Duo insisted that Harry call all his friends by their first names.

"So who were you guys chasing?" Harry asked.

Trowa glanced at him briefly before answering in a quiet voice. "A jewel thief."

"Oh yeah? And he just vanished into thin air?"

Trowa nodded wordlessly.

"Did you hear anything? Did he call for pickup or was there a sound, like a bang or gunshot?"

Trowa frowned and finally looked Harry in the eye. "There was a sound similar to a gunshot. How did you know?"

"Oh, uh, just a guess. I mean, I just trying to think of a way a person could just vanish into thin air."

"You know a way for someone to vanish with the sound of a gunshot?" Trowa's voice was both disbelieving and suspicious.

"Well no…" Harry stammered. "I was just asking to see if I could help."

"You cannot." Trowa turned away from him as the doors dinged open. Harry followed the man out of the building and to his car. He was surprised to find Quatre waiting at the vehicle. The blonde smiled at the two.

"Did you get Iien settled?" At Trowa's nod, Quatre turned to Harry. "Good afternoon, James. How are you doing today?"

"Fine thanks." Harry gestured to the car. "I just came down to get Iien's laptop."

"Oh!" Quatre stepped aside as Trowa reached into the car, grabbing the item. "Well tell Iien to make sure he takes it easy and rests that ankle."

"I will," Harry assured, taking the computer from Trowa. "Do you both have the rest of the day off?"

Quatre smiled. "It's rare, but every so often we do get a day together."

Harry returned the smile. "Then I won't hold you up. Enjoy your day."

"You as well."

Harry watched as the two climbed into Trowa's car and drove away. Once they were gone, Harry stepped back into his apartment building and opened Iien's laptop. The screen lit up, asking for a log in and password. Harry quickly stepped onto the elevator and pulled out his wand. He whispered a duplication spell over the machine before shutting the lid. The spell would only last for a twenty four hours, so hopefully Iien would type his report before then.

* * *

When Harry reported to Duo's office the next morning, he was surprised to find more people in the office than usual. Duo was sitting in his chair with Heero and Wufei standing behind him, scowling at two woman who were dressed in white doctor coats across from them. As he entered, the women turned to face him and Harry had to suppress a smile as he realized one of them was Hermione.

"James," Duo greeted coldly. "These women are here to see you."

"We're here to see all of you, Maxwell," Sally practically growled. "All of you are well overdue for your physicals." She pinned a hard stare on Harry. "And you should have received one the moment you were assigned as Maxwell's partner."

Harry was taken back. "Uh, sure. Okay. Where and when should I report?"

The doctor looked shocked at his words and Duo smacked the desk loudly with his palms. "James! We do _not_ give in to _doctors_!"

Sally Po also slapped Duo's desk loudly, standing from her seat with a superior smirk. Even though she was speaking to Harry, her eyes never left Duo's face. "Porter, you will report to the medical floor immediately, my assistant, Jean Gardner, will accompany you."

"James, you will do no such thing!" Duo leveled a glare on Hermione. "I'm not letting you go anywhere with this… this _trickster_!"

"I thought you were a trickster?" Harry teased, amused.

"I am a top notch prankster!" Duo growled. "This _woman_ is nothing but a lowly jester."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's angry because when we first met, I tricked him into getting a shot." She scowled at Duo. "A shot that you needed to save your life, I might add."

"I could have survived the poison."

"And risked permanent paralysis!"

"Don't waste your breath, Jean," Sally interrupted. "Soldiers will never understand the importance of physicals. The point is, gentlemen, you are all overdue for your check ups, and until you get them, all three of you are officially off field duty."

"What—?!"

"Desk duty, Maxwell!" Sally growled. "Until I get all of your tests results." She glared at Heero and Wufei. "And I mean all of you. Winner's already finished his, but Barton still needs to report to me." She straightened and smirked at Duo's angry face. "Enjoy your desk jobs, gentlemen."

She swept from the room, her doctor's coat billowing around her. Hermione stood and nodded respectfully to the men. "Good day, gentlemen. We'll see you soon." She smiled at Harry, her eyes twinkling as she walked out of the office, closing the door behind her. Harry turned to a scowling Duo, angry Wufei, and stoic Heero.

"It's just a physical," Harry said. "I can't believe the three of you have any trouble passing it."

"Hah, we could do their stupid tests with our eyes closed," Duo grumbled, crossing his arms.

Harry raised his eyebrow. "So what's the problem? Just go get it over with." None of them answered and Harry shrugged. "Whatever. I'm going to the medical floor and getting this taken care of. I don't know about you guys but I don't want to be stuck behind a desk for any longer than I have to." Harry grabbed the doorknob and leveled annoyed look at Duo. "And since I can't go on missions without you, you had better not keep me waiting for long."

Duo snorted and rolled his eyes as Harry swept from the room.

* * *

Harry smiled happily as Sally Po left to set up the equipment for his physical. He and Hermione sat together at a table, ready to fill out some medical forms.

"Well thank you for coming so promptly," Hermione began. "Let's start with your full name."

Harry glanced around the room, making sure they were alone, before grinning at Hermione. "Harry James Potter."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "James Porter," she spoke as she wrote. "Birthday?"

"July 30th, 1980."

"October 15th, AC 184."

"How did you know that?" Harry asked. "I thought you didn't know anything about my undercover identity?"

"I read your application to the Preventers," Hermione admitted. "Did you know they used Professor McGonagall as one of the letters of recommendations to get you in?"

"McGonagall knows we're here?" Harry asked in shock.

"Of course not. They probably asked her to write you one and then changed it to fit their needs. Now, any family history of health problems?"

"No."

"Okay, any previous health problems?"

"Um… accident prone?"

Hermione giggled. "That's not a health problem, Harry."

"Okay…then, no. Oh wait!" Harry grinned. "Being a horcrux."

Hermione's eyes widen slightly. "Harry!" She checked the box indicating no prior health issues. "Any recent mental health issues?"

"I had a the Dark Lord in my head trying to drive me insane."

"We'll put a minor case of PTSD after the war was over, everyone has that. Okay, any previous surgeries?"

"Does having my bones regrown count as surgery?"

Hermione giggled. "I forgot about that. Oh that Lockhart had everyone fooled."

"All the woman, you mean." Hermione rolled her eyes and Harry smiled. "Anything else?"

"No, I can fill the rest in myself. Dr. Po should be ready by now."

"Before we go in there, I have an update." Harry leaned closer and lowered his voice. "I was going to check in with you both tonight but Iien is filing out a report for the Weirdo file. I've put a duplication charm on his computer so we we'll be able to retrieve the codes and get access to it."

"But will Iien have the clearance? If you don't, I don't see why he would."

"I'm hoping that Trowa gave it to him so he could file the report. I won't know until tonight."

"That's excellent news Harry, be sure to keep us informed." They stood just as the door opened, revealing Heero, Wufei, and a very disgruntled Duo. Hermione smiled at the three.

"Welcome gentlemen! I just finished the paperwork with Mr. Porter. Give me a moment to get yours." She winked at Harry and disappeared into her office.

Harry grinned cheekily at the three. "Didn't like the idea of desk work, did you?"

"Shut up," Duo ordered. "You're on the shit-list for siding with the doctors."

"I'm not siding with anyone!" Harry argued. "I'm just getting a physical."

"Shit. List."

Harry rolled his eyes and stormed into the exam room. At the instruction of the intern working, he removed his shirt and stepped on the treadmill. The intern hooked him up to monitoring devices and turned the machine on.

"Go ahead and start running," she ordered.

Harry did so, keeping his pace at a light jog. He was surprised when Duo walked in, still looking disgruntled. Heero and Wufei followed a moment later and all three removed their shirts as they stepped up onto treadmills.

"That was fast," Harry commented.

"We've done this many, many times before."

For the next half hour the four boys ran in place in silence. Harry couldn't help himself and kept sneaking peaks at Duo. The other man was the same height as him but skinnier. He had no body fat and was built of pure muscle. There were light, faded scars scattered about his torso that Harry knew were from the wars. Duo's long braid bounced on his back as he jogged.

Duo suddenly looked over and caught Harry staring at him. He grinned wickedly and winked, making Harry blush brightly and miss a step in his running. Duo laughed loudly while Harry pointedly ignored him. They finished their running a few minutes later and climbed off the machines, none of them out of breath.

"Excellent condition," the intern said. "Now if you'll head to the next room, Dr. Po will be in to check your reflexes."

As soon as she finished speaking, the door opened and Trowa walked in with Ron.

"Hey Tro-man!" Duo greeted. "Quatre making you get your physical today too?"

Trowa nodded.

"Hey, Agent Porter, right?" Ron smiled and stuck his hand out for Harry.

"Yeah, Agent Windborne? Good to see you again. Do you need a physical too?"

Ron shrugged. "Guess even a desk worker like me has to have some physical ability."

"It's not hard. You'll do fine, I'm sure."

Ron grinned. Of course he would do just fine. He may not have been keeping up with his normal training regime since starting the mission but Ron was still in great shape.

"Yeah, I've been kinda slacking since getting this job though, I should work on that. My girlfriend will get cranky if I let myself go."

"I'm usually in the gym on Wednesdays, if we don't have a mission. Why not join me?"

"Sure, thanks mate."

Harry nodded. This was the perfect opportunity for him and Ron to spend more time together without having to sneak around. If they acted like casual friends who worked out together no one would be suspicious if they ever caught the two alone talking.

Duo heard the conversation and shot the two an annoyed look. He didn't like the idea of sharing his little partner with someone else. The only reason James worked out alone on Wednesdays was because all of Duo's paperwork was due Thursday. Duo bounced over and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Well you two have fun running, we have to go to the exam room." He shoved Harry towards the next room without another word.

The exam room was painted a light blue with only one table. Heero and Wufei entered another room and Sally Po followed them, ordering Duo and Harry to wait in the first one. Harry jumped up on the exam bed and looked around curiously. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd been to a muggle doctor's office. The room was cold and unnaturally clean. It lacked the organized chaos of a magical hospital. He shivered from the cold.

"So where'd you get the scars?" Duo asked abruptly. Harry turned to him and noticed the man staring at his bare chest. Harry flushed lightly and shrugged.

"Where'd you get yours?"

"Fair enough." Duo leaned on the table next to him. "Normally I wouldn't ask but the one on your hand has really got me curious."

Harry looked down at his hand where the words "I will not tell lies" were still visible. The scar had faded with time but was still there if someone looked closely enough. Up until now Harry had managed to never let anyone stare at his hands long enough to see them but with Duo's sharp eyes he wasn't surprised the older man noticed.

"You tell a lot of lies?"

Harry shook his head. "No, actually. I got this one for telling the truth a little too loudly for some people's taste."

Duo grunted and took Harry's hand, running his fingers over the words. "It's old."

Harry gently took his hand back. "How'd you get that one?" Harry pointed to a small scar just above Duo's heart. The braided man shrugged.

"Let a guy get too close."

"What guy?"

"Doesn't matter, he's dead now. Heero killed him."

Harry's eyes widened. "But I thought Heero didn't kill anymore? During training he always emphasized disabling an enemy."

Duo grinned. "Yeah well, Hee-chan's really protective."

Harry noticed Duo's smile didn't quite reach his eyes when he said this. The teen had noticed it before but this confirmed it. His partner used smiles to cover up how he was really feeling. That wasn't to say Duo wasn't a happy person, generally his smiles were real. But that just made his mask harder to see through.

"What are you staring at?" Duo asked.

Harry snapped out of his daze. "Uh, nothing, sorry."

"You've been staring at me all day." He moved closer. "See something you like?"

Harry rolled his eyes and attempted to act nonchalant. "Shut up." He attempted to push Duo away but the other man caught his hand and linked their fingers, moving even closer.

"Awe come on. You have to say something nice or you'll hurt my feelings."

He moved closer and Harry stilled, unsure of what to do or say. Duo was so close he could feel his breath on his lips. His hand was warm and their fingers were still linked. Harry stared at his lips and leaned closer slightly just as the door to the room opened. Startled, Harry jerked away quickly, pulling his hand back and trying to hide his blush. Duo let his head hang for a moment before he glared at Ron and Trowa,who had just entered the room.

"Sup guys," he greeted in an annoyed tone.

Ron glanced between Duo and Harry before shooting Harry a knowing look. His friend rolled his eyes and turned away.

"Hey guys. Dr. Po told us to wait here."

As soon as he finished talking, Hermione walked into the room with her clipboard. "Mr. Porter? I'll be doing your exam. Oh, Mr. Windborne, you're done already? Come with us, I'll be taking care of yours too. Sally will be in for you two in just a minute."

Ron and Harry followed her to different room. As soon as they were alone, Ron playfully shoved Harry and laughed. "Looked a little friendly with your partner there, mate."

"Shut up, Ron."

Hermione looked between the two. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"I walked in on Harry and Duo snogging."

"We weren't snogging!"

Hermione frowned disapprovingly. "Harry, need I remind you we are here on a mission? This is not the time or place to start looking for a relationship."

"I'm not looking for one!" Harry defended. "He just happens to be good looking and well, I was tempted okay? I'm only human."

Hermione didn't look convinced. "Just don't get attached. Nothing good can come of a relationship built on lies."

"Just drop it and do this exam."

"Oh I already finished the paperwork," Hermione waved at her clipboard dismissively. "We've just got to stay in here so it looks like I gave you one. I know both your medical records inside and out."

"Well someone's got to!" Ron exclaimed. "Because I sure don't."

"Yeah I stopped trying to keep track of mine after fourth year. Got to be too much."

Harry and Ron laughed while Hermione huffed. "You two are impossible."

* * *

Harry entered his apartment in a good mood. He didn't see Duo again after the physicals but Harry figured he would see him tomorrow at work. It had been nice today, being able to let his guard down and act like himself with his friends. Even if they only got a few minutes together it was better than nothing. As much as Harry enjoyed Duo's company he missed seeing Ron and Hermione everyday.

Iien entered the room and greeted Harry pleasantly. "Hey James, what's up?"

"Hey, should you be up? How's your ankle?"

"I had to use the bathroom and it's fine. I can walk a little so long as I'm careful." Harry nodded and walked over to his bunk. Iien's laptop was sitting on his pillow. "Sorry. I couldn't get into my bunk on my ankle so I used yours."

"That's okay," Harry turned to him. "Did you finish your report?"

"Yeah, it was boring, sitting here all day by myself so I figured I might as well do it. Also, I think it's time we invested in cable.""

"Good." Harry set the laptop down and drew his wand. Before Iien had a chance to react, Harry stunned him. He quickly caught the older man before he hit the ground and then carefully levitated him onto his bunk. Harry pulled his bracelet off and touched the stones representing his friends.

"I have Iien's laptop. Come to my apartment as soon as you can; the coast is clear."

Harry slipped his bracelet back on and moved to the couch. He set the laptop down and booted up the computer. A moment later the sound of Ron and Hermione apparating announced their arrival.

"Hey mate, did you get his password?"

"I'm checking now." Harry gestured for them to sit on the couch while he sat in the middle so they both could see the screen. Harry followed the exact keystrokes Iien performed and within moments, they had found the folder they were looking for.

"Unexplained and Unsolved Missions," Hermione read. Harry clicked on it and a password screen popped up. The keys on the keyboard lit up one at a time and Harry pressed them. Another screen popped up confirming the password.

The folder was filled with files, all named after the mission and date the mission occurred. Harry double-clicked on the first one and a password screen popped up. They stared at the keyboard, but none of the keys lit up.

"He must not have tried to open this file so there's nothing for the spell to duplicate," Ron said.

"Try his password," Hermione suggested. Harry did but the password was rejected.

"He doesn't have clearance." Harry tried another file but got the same result.

"Try mine," Ron suggested. He reached over and typed his password but was rejected too.

"We don't have the clearance," Hermione said sadly. "Agent Barton must have only given Iien enough clearance to add to the folder, not view anything in it."

Harry leaned back into the couch with a sigh of frustration. They had gotten so close, to think that a simple password stood in the way of them completing their mission.

"Let's think this through," Harry started. "We found what we're looking for, but we can't get access to it." He turned to Hermione. "Is there a spell we could cast to reveal its secrets to us?"

Hermione looked thoughtful before shaking her head. "Magic and technology don't really work well together. Small spells, like the detection spell you used, doesn't affect it, but higher powered spells, such as one to force a computer to reveal its 'secrets' would probably short circuit it."

"Wait a second…" Ron frowned. "I might have this wrong, but this computer is connected to all the other ones, right?" At his friend's nods, he continued. "Well what good does being able to read these files do for us? Even if we read and change them on this computer, they'll still be the same on all the others."

"Changing the file on this computer and saving it, will change the files everywhere," Hermione explained. "So long as they're all connected when the changes take place."

"What are we changing them to?"

"We won't know that until we read the files," Hermione answered.

"For example," Harry jumped in. "The report Iien just submitted said that he and Trowa pursued a jewel thief who vanished into thin air. The only clue they had was the sound of a gunshot they heard right before the guy disappeared."

"He disapparated?"

"I think so. There weren't any footprints or any sign of transportation."

"Okay, so what are we going to change the file to?"

"Officially it will read the man simply escaped because the agents lost sight of him. It won't mention anything about him disappearing or the cracking sound."

"And Barton and Iien?"

"We charm their memories to accept it as well."

"I don't think we thought this all through," Ron said. "There are a lot of files here and probably submitted by a lot of different agents. How are we going to change all of them and charm everyone's memory and not get caught in the process?"

"Well we're not going to do it all, Ron," Hermione explained. "Once we have access to the files, we'll call the Minister and he's going to send a whole team to work on it. It's our job to get the information; it'll be their job to cover everything up."

Ron nodded and leaned back, placing his hands behind his head as he thought. "Well you know who has access to everything? Quatre and the others."

Harry nodded. "I have no idea what Duo's password is. He never types it if I'm standing nearby."

"Same with Quatre."

"There has to be some way to get it. What if you use the same duplication spell on their computers as you did with this one?"

Ron shook his head. "Too many different people use the computers we work on. The spell would be duplicating too much and there'd be no way to tell what was Quatre's."

"It could work with Duo," Harry mused. "Only he and I use the computer in his office."

"Well try that as soon as you can and we'll go from there."

Later that night, Hermione sat at her workstation, typing up charts absentmindedly. She had been seeing patients with Dr. Po's permission for a few weeks now. While Hermione enjoyed her work very much –much more than she has expected, really— she was acutely away that she wasn't making any progress on her real mission.

Her computer beeped, informing her of an email. Hermione paused in her work to check the message. It was a possible match from the Family Reconstruction Act and Hermione grinned. She thought the act was an absolutely wonderful thing and the chance to reconnect a family torn apart by war made her excited. She opened the email and scanned it quickly.

Hermione's eyes widened with shock and her mouth slowly fell open. The file for one James Porter had popped up along with it's potential match. She clicked on the match but a message popped up, demanding a password. She quickly typed hers in but was denied access. Frowning, she tried again, just in case she'd typed things incorrectly. Again, the password was rejected because of lack of clearance.

Hermione switched back to James Porter's file and skimmed it over. Everything was accurate. It stated James was nineteen, and that he was currently employed as a Preventer Agent. He was listed as growing up in London and had no political affiliation. There was a brief medical history stating that he was healthy and had no mental issues and there was a blood sample on file. Hermione clicked it and a letter popped up.

"The system has found a potential match between James Porter and..." Hermione frowned as she read. The other person's name had been blacked out on the screen. "The two blood samples on file have been confirmed to be a fifty percent match with one another. Further testing is recommended to confirm findings."

Hermione clicked on the attachment to the letter and a data sheet popped up. Her eyes studied the genetic profile of the two samples and she frowned. The way the FRA was designed, if a match appeared in the system between two people who were a fifty percent match with each other, a message was sent to the doctor who originally entered the information. Hermione had personally entered hers, Harry's, and Ron's fake files when she first started working for Sally. The other person had been entered by someone with a higher clearance than her so she couldn't read the file.

Hermione minimized the screen and brought up the database for the FRA. She searched for Harry Potter and the old file appeared. She had changed the information for the nine year old Harry Potter so that his DNA wouldn't be matched with himself. She then looked up Petunia Dursley and Dudley. Hermione had modified both of them as well, so the mystery match wasn't Harry's relatives.

Hermione wasn't sure who that left. The only blood relatives Harry had were his aunt and cousin. His uncle was related by marriage. Frowning, Hermione once again brought up the FRA match screen and tried her password. She knew it would be rejected before she hit enter but still scowled when it didn't work. She would need Sally's clearance to look at the file.

Shaking her head, Hermione grabbed her bracelet and touched the green stone. It took a long time before Harry's sleepy voice echoed from the bracelet. Hermione hadn't realized how late it was.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine, there's a problem though."

"What is it?" Harry sounded more awake this time and Hermione stretched her bracelet open until his tired face appeared in the circle.

"Can you come to my office? It's in the medical area of headquarters. Third floor, last door on the left."

Harry rubbed his eyes and nodded. "Okay, I'll be there in a minute."

Hermione put her bracelet back on and then paused. She touched the red stone that was Ron and, after scolding him for whining about being tired, told him to come to her office as well. While she waited, Hermione printed out all the information she could access. By the time she was done, Harry and Ron knocked on the door and slipped inside. Both looked tired and Ron was obviously annoyed at being made to wake up in the middle of the night.

"It's nearly one in the morning," Ron complained. "This had better be important, Hermione." He leaned over and kissed her briefly before plopping down into a chair next to her desk. Harry took the other one, resting his chin in his hand.

"Did you find something on the Weirdo File?"

"No, I found something else." She hesitated before handing the papers over to Harry. "You both know what the FRA is right?"

"That's what you and Sally have been working on these last few months?" Harry asked. He glanced at the papers but couldn't bring his tired mind to focus on the science jargon.

"Yes, we're all entered into it. It's required for all Preventer Agents." Hermione hesitated again before hurrying to say. "It's found a match for you, Harry."

The boys stared at her in disbelief before Harry suddenly straightened. "Oh crap! My aunt!"

Hermione shook her head. "I've already checked, it's not your aunt."

"Then Dudley," Harry continued. "They're my only two blood relatives."

"It's not Dudley either. I've already been through the entire system and changed the records so that yours and my family won't be linked to us accidentally. I didn't have to worry about Ron because his family are wizards, so they aren't in the muggle system."

"So then who is it?" Harry asked in confusion. "Petunia and Dudley are the only options."

Hermione bit her lip worriedly. "That's just it, I don't know. The other blood sample is classified. I can't access any information about it. The results are here..." she pulled out the paper with the DNA printed results. "I'm not a geneticists so I only understand the basics. But this paper here shows a fifty percent match of genetic markers between your blood and the other sample."

"What does that mean?"

"It means whoever this is, is related to you by blood and very closely. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this person is a brother or sister but..."

"But I don't have siblings," Harry finished. "How accurate are these tests?"

"They have a ninety-five percent accuracy rate," Hermione answered. "Normally when a match is found, both parties are informed and brought in and another test is done to confirm the findings."

Harry stared at his friend before glancing down at the papers. He frowned, not understanding anything written there. He spotted the letter and read it, annoyed when the name of the other person was blocked out.

"What's DNA?" Ron asked suddenly. Both turned to look at him.

"DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid," Hermione answered. "It's a substance that carries our genetic code."

"Genetic code?"

"It's what makes up who and what we are. Each living person and thing has a genetic code that is carried through our DNA. When a child is born, the parent's genetic code is passed from them to their child. It's how muggles know who's child is who's."

"Can it be fooled? Could someone have changed Harry's DNA to mess with him for some reason?"

Hermione shook her head. "You can't change DNA but you can lie on the results of a test." She glanced over at Harry. "There's a small possibility that someone modified these tests results to make us think you had found a match."

"Who? And why? And how would anyone know to change James Porter's results and not Harry Potter's?" Harry shook his head. "That's pretty far fetched."

"Well it's either that or... or the FRA found you a long lost sibling."

"The Potters are one of the best known families in the entire Wizarding World," Ron put in. "Someone, somewhere would have noticed if they had another kid. Sirius or Remus would have said something."

"Well... no, they wouldn't have," Hermione said slowly. She looked at Harry, who staring at the papers in front of him silently. He glanced up at her, his mind slowly coming to the same conclusion.

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.

"Do you remember when you went with your family to Greece, just before we started Auror training?" Hermione asked. Ron nodded. "Well Harry and I stayed in London, cleaning up Remus' old place. We wanted to find some of his old belongings to give to Teddy."

"We found some letters," Harry spoke. "They were pretty old and between Sirius and my dad. I don't know why Remus had them."

"What'd they say?"

Harry's face darkened as he leaned back into seat. "My mum... I guess when she younger she was raped." Ron's eyes widened in horror. "She got pregnant but didn't believe in abortion. So my dad wrote to Sirius and told him what happened and asked him to help them keep it a secret while they were at school. They managed to hide it from everyone and when the baby was born, my mum gave him up for adoption."

"Merlin Harry..." Ron glanced at the papers. "So wait... are you two thinking that this match is between Harry and the baby his mum gave up when she was a teenager?"

Harry shook his head. "I tried to track him down awhile ago and found him. The baby was given to a family who lived up in the colonies, L3, I think. But on a trip to Earth, the entire family was killed in an accident. I went and saw the grave and that was the end of that."

"How old was he?"

"He died when he was ten, according to the dates on the tombstone."

Ron frowned in thought. "So what is all of this then? It's not your aunt or cousin, it's not your mum's kid because he died... so who's the FRA matched to you?"

Harry shrugged. "I have no idea." He turned to Hermione. "There's no way for us to get the name?"

"It's level ten classified," Hermione answered. "The only people with that high of clearance are Sally...Lady Une, Duo and others would probably have it too."

Harry rolled his eyes and spoke sarcastically. "Hey Duo, could I use your password to get into some classified files? Really, great, thanks!"

"Our mission would be over by now if it were that easy," Ron muttered.

"So what would you like me to do, Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know! I guess... just erase it or something? It's probably a mistake anyway. We don't need this kind of distraction from the mission."

"Are you sure? If it is true..."

"It's not Hermione. I'm not being pessimistic, just realistic. We know my family and we know what happened to them. There isn't anyone it could be. It's a mistake."

Hermione nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll enter it into the system as an error. That will make it go away."

"Thanks." Harry stood and stretched. "I'm going back home. Duo told me to show up at six for some 'special training.'"

"Oh yeah, how special?" Ron leered.

"If you had ever trained with Duo, you wouldn't be making jokes," Harry grumbled. "The guy is insane. They all are. Sometimes I want to use my magic just to wipe that smug smile off his face."

"Harry—"

"I won't Hermione!" Harry assured before he lecture could get started. "I know not to."

"You'd better."

"That's what I like about Quatre, he's really casual."

"I'll trade ya."

"No thank you."

They both laughed before saying goodnight to Hermione and heading back home. Once they were gone, Hermione turned to her computer and stared at the findings on the screen. Despite what she'd said to Harry, something about this bugged her. With a sigh, she entered in the error information and submitted it. This was Harry's choice. If he didn't want to pursue the match, then she would just have to respect his wishes.

* * *

Sally sipped at a glass of wine as she read a book in the comfort of her modest home. Her computer beeped and she set the book aside to check the email. It was a message from the FRA. Curious, Sally opened the file and felt her jaw drop as she read the unclassified version of the documents.

**A/N: Finally got the damn FRA into the story. I've been waiting so long to post this chapter. It was a big part of the reason I wanted to do double updates. I really wanted to get this chapter posted.**

**So the scene with Duo and Harry wasn't in my original plan but I felt like I wasn't developing their romance enough. I'm not quiet ready to have them get together but they are definitely flirty.**

**The next chapter is going to be Sally telling Trowa about the match with some Duo/Harry moments. Also I'll explain the story behind Duo's scar mentioned in this chapter. I really liked that line, "Hee-chan's really protective." Cuz he is. It's freaking cute!**

**So see you guys soon! Please review! **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Okay, just to clear up a little confusion everyone. No one knows who Harry Potter is. Hermione changed the FRA data so that James Porter and Harry Potter had different DNA results because if she didn't, then the whole jig would be up. She also changed her own information so it wouldn't be matched to her family.**

**Okay so this chapter is mainly Trowa being told about his long-lost brother. It's also got (what I think are) some nice Duo moments. I hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter Eleven:**

Quatre was sitting at his dining table, sipping at his coffee as he read the stock quotes on his tablet. His company had jumped up five points since yesterday, probably due to the successful expansion into the restaurant industry. Quatre had come up with the idea of opening his own chain of restaurants since he and his co-workers were constantly entertaining guests for dinner. This way he didn't have to pay another place and could write all the meals off as a business expense. It also created new jobs and boosted the local economy.

Pleased with the news, Quatre set his tablet aside and focused on the breakfast a maid set in front of him. Today was going to be a busy day. He planned on going into the office early to do some paperwork and then heading over to Preventer Headquarters to work with Arthur and Thomas. A terrorist group had recently become more active and Quatre decided it would be good experience for Arthur to look the file over and try and determine a strategy on how to proceed. Thomas, of course, was much too young to work on such things so Quatre would have to find something else for the young boy to do.

Trowa entered the room, a towel draped over his shoulders. He smiled and greeted Quatre with a kiss before pulling on a shirt and sitting down. A maid brought out a plate of food before disappearing quietly.

"So what are your plans for the day, my love?" Quatre asked.

Trowa shrugged lightly. "I do not have a mission scheduled until Thursday and Kron is working with the new recruits."

"How is Iien doing? Is he happier now with his assignment? I know he was slightly put out by Lady Une's decision to have him work with new enlistees."

"He has warmed up to the job," Trowa answered. "He still complains about not getting enough field time. I plan to take him with me on my next mission."

"That's excellent. I'm sure he'll appreciate it. And, to be honest, I don't like you going on missions alone. I know you can handle yourself but I feel much better knowing someone is with you."

Trowa smiled patiently at his young lover. They ate in silence until the doorbell rang. Quatre looked up in surprise as a maid went to answer the door.

"Are you expecting anyone?"

Trowa shook his head. A minute later the maid led Sally Po into the dining room. She bowed and left as both men stood to greet their surprise guest.

"Sally," Quatre said. "What a surprise. Is everything alright?"

"Sorry to drop in unannounced but I wanted to catch Trowa before he went to work." She turned to the other man and stared at him for a long moment. Trowa lifted an eyebrow curiously before the woman nodded. "Can we sit and talk?"

Trowa nodded and led the way into the living room. Sally sat on the couch while the two lovers sat together on the loveseat across from her.

"Can I offer you a drink?" Quatre asked, ever the polite host.

"No, thank you." Sally set the thin folder she had been carrying on the table and pushed it towards the boys. "I'll get right to the point. This morning I received an e-mail from the FRA system stating it had found a match between two individuals."

Trowa and Quatre exchanged looks and Quatre slowly picked up the folder.

"The system identified a fifty percent match between Trowa and another Preventer Agent."

Trowa's eyes widened while Quatre's jaw dropped. He turned to his lover, unsure of what to say.

"Because all information pertaining to you is classified, I received the e-mail. No one else has seen your name."

"You... found my family?" Trowa asked slowly.

"A half brother," Sally said seriously. "Judging from the genetic markers, you both share a mother but have different fathers."

Trowa turned to Quatre. His eyes landed on the folder and Quatre opened it. He held it out so both of them could look at the information together.

"James Porter?" Trowa asked. "Duo's new partner?"

"That's the one," Sally confirmed.

The two stared at the documents, feeling like a bomb had just gone off in their faces. Trowa had next to no memory of his life before the war. He didn't remember growing up or having a family. He didn't even know his own name, having taken Trowa Barton from the man originally meant to pilot his Gundam.

"Are you sure?" Quatre spoke.

"The system is very accurate," Sally explained. "The protocol when a match is made is to inform both parties and bring them in for a second test, to confirm the findings."

"Trowa?"

Trowa frowned as he stared at the picture of James in the file. They didn't look much alike except for their eyes. They had matching eyes.

"I..." Trowa shook his head. He could feel a headache coming on. Quatre took his hand and squeezed.

"Does anyone else know?" Quatre asked.

"My assistant, Jean, would have gotten the email as well but she doesn't have the clearance to read it. I've already left her a message telling her not to do anything about it and that I would handle it."

Quatre nodded and looked at Trowa, who still couldn't tear his eyes away from James's picture. He glanced back at Sally.

"You said you wanted to do another test?"

"To confirm that the findings are accurate," Sally said. She gestured at the briefcase next to her. "I brought my equipment to take another blood sample from you and will handle this personally. Also, if you prefer, we can wait to tell Porter. I can call him in with some excuse about needing a physical or check up."

Trowa nodded and finally looked up at Sally. "Please do so. I would like this confirmed as soon as possible."

"I'll call him in today. I've told both of you first because of your... statuses. But I want you to be prepared. The FRA has a high accuracy rate. I know we do a second test just to be safe, but I'm fairly certain that this is accurate. I believe you are both brothers."

Trowa felt his throat tighten at her words and nodded slowly. He turned back to the picture while Sally opened her medical kit and prepared a sterile needle. She quickly took Trowa's blood, tactfully ignoring the way he stiffened in discomfort when she approached with the needle. Once she was done, she carefully put the vial into her briefcase and locked it tightly.

"I'm heading into work. I'll call Duo and tell him to have Porter report to me immediately. The tests will take a few hours to process so I'll call you around two with the results."

"Thank you, Sally," Quatre said. "Please call us here. I don't think either of us will be going into work today."

Sally nodded and left. Once she was gone, Quatre gently touched Trowa's face. "Are you okay?"

Trowa shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know what to think."

Quatre nodded and wrapped his arms around Trowa's neck, kissing his head softly. "We'll figure this out, together."

"I have only met James twice. Kron went through training with him and speaks highly of him."

"Duo likes him too," Quatre added. "I've met him a couple times and he's very polite." Quatre gestured at the file. "He's a good agent too. Heero and Wufei both trained him and liked him. So at least we know he's a good person. He's certainly impressed the people in our circle."

Trowa nodded. "We'll wait until Sally calls to do anything."

Quatre nodded and held Trowa close, worried for his lover.

* * *

Harry never thought he'd be grateful to get called in for a surprise check up by a doctor but with how hard Duo was pushing him, the break was welcomed. After returning home from Hermione's office last night, Harry hadn't been able to sleep. He believed everything he had said to his friends but the nagging feeling in the back of his mind just wouldn't go away. What if he had been wrong and the FRA really had found some long lost family? Harry might have been more willing to believe if it had been a distant cousin but for it to say he had a half-brother? He just couldn't wrap his mind around it.

"This has better be important!" Duo groused. He was pacing back and forth in the exam room, waiting with Harry. "I hate when I'm interrupted."

Harry stifled a yawn. Duo's training sessions were always hard but they were especially excruciating when he was suffering from lack of sleep.

"Did Dr. Po say what she wanted?"

"Nope, just said to bring you in now and it was important."

"Great." Harry flopped down on the bed and closed his eyes.

"Why are you so tired? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were out all night partying."

"What makes you think I wasn't?"

Duo was silent until Harry opened his eyes to look at him. He smirked and drew a box in the air with his fingers. Harry scowled and lazily kicked him.

"Shut up."

Duo laughed before jumping up on the exam table next to Harry. The younger boy grunted in annoyance and turned over. He missed Duo's mischievous smirk and so was unprepared when Duo pinched him soundly on the butt. Harry yelped in surprise and jumped up.

"What the hell?"

Duo clutched his sides in laughter. "Sorry, couldn't resit." He laughed even harder at Harry's annoyed face. "Don't be like that, it's cute! I just couldn't help myself."

"Well next time you feel the need to grab _my_ butt, you had better ask!"

"Sure, sure," Duo dismissed. He smiled brightly at Harry and the boy narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"What?"

"Nuthing... just couldn't help but notice that you're not upset because I just grabbed your butt but because I didn't ask first."

Harry flushed and turned away from Duo with a huff. The braided teen swung his legs over the exam bed and leaned forward, forcing Harry to look at him.

"Come on, kid. We've been dancing around each other for weeks now."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Sure ya do!" Duo leaned in close and Harry didn't pull away. He could feel how hot his face was but was determined not to let his embarrassment show. "Let's just try and see if there's a spark..."

Harry let his eyes slip closed as he leaned closer to Duo. They were so close Harry could feel Duo's breath on his face. Before their lips could connect the door slammed open and Harry jumped back, startled.

"Oh come _on_!" Duo exclaimed. He glared at Sally who was staring at the two of them suspiciously.

"Maxwell, you didn't need to come. I just need to run a check up on Porter."

"Right. A check up. At seven in the morning."

"I don't have time later in the day," Sally snapped. "Now go wait outside."

"Oh, he can stay," Harry said. "I don't mind."

Sally looked annoyed but didn't argue. "Fine. Duo, sit over there. Porter, on the table."

They both did as they were told. Sally tested Harry's reflexes, waved a light in his eyes, made him open his mouth and say ah. As she did all this, she asked questions.

"We don't have a complete medical history on you," she explained. "What are your parents names?"

Harry blinked. "Uh... Lily and James Porter." He didn't have code names for his parents so he figured sticking with the truth would be easiest. This way he didn't have to keep straight anymore lies.

"So you were named after your father?"

"Yeah."

"How did they die?"

"They were killed in a car accident," Harry replied. There was no way he was going to sit here and try and explain that his parents were murdered and why. The lie his aunt had told him when he was younger worked just fine.

"Did they have any medical problems? Heart trouble? Blood pressure issues?"

"Not that I know of," Harry shrugged. "They were healthy."

"Hold old were they when they died?"

"Twenty-one."

Sally paused, surprised by this. "They had you very young."

Harry nodded. "My mum was twenty when I was born."

"So you have no siblings?Your parents didn't have previous marriages or children?"

Harry shook his head.

"Hmm..." Sally pulled out a needle and scowled when Duo made a sound of distaste. "I just need to draw some blood and then we'll be done."

Harry rolled up sleeve and Sally cleaned his arm with a cotton swap. "You have a lot of scars," Sally stated. "Are any of them from previous surgeries?"

"No."

Sally carefully drew the blood and capped the vial off. "What are they from?"

Harry stared at her. The woman frowned but decided not to push the issue right now. She could tell by the look in the young man's eyes that he wasn't going to give up the information easily. He was a lot like the former pilots in that regard.

"Okay, I'm finished. Thank you for coming in, you're dismissed."

Harry nodded and jumped from the table. He grabbed the doorknob and turned to Duo. "You coming?"

"I'll be there in a sec, I want to ask Sally something."

Harry shrugged and left. Duo frowned at the woman and crossed his arms. "So what was this really about?"

Sally shook her head. "I'm not at liberty to say. If you want to know, you'll have to ask Trowa."

"Trowa?"

"I'm not saying anything else, Duo. Excuse me, I need to get this sample to the lab."

She left quickly, ignoring Duo's upset face behind her.

* * *

The phone rang at exactly 1:59pm. Trowa stared at it a moment before shaking his head. Without a word Quatre stood and answered.

"Hello?" He was silent for a long moment before nodding. "Thank you, Sally. We'll handle things from here."

He hung up and went to sit next to Trowa on the couch. He took his lover's hand.

"It was positive?"

Quatre nodded.

"I am... unsure of how to proceed."

"Well, whenever I meet another one of my sisters I start by taking them out to lunch. We keep things light and just chat, try and get to know each other."

"I am not good at small talk."

Quatre nodded. "True, but that's something we can work on."

"Will you come with me?"

Quatre looked up in surprise. "Of course!" He squeezed Trowa's hand. "I'll be here for you every step of the way, for whatever you need. I love you."

Trowa squeezed his hand back. "I want to take some time to adjust before speaking to him. Let's keep this between us for now."

"As you wish."

*!*!*!*

Harry was sitting in Duo's office, reclining in one of the chairs in front of the desk. The two had finished their training session after Sally had finished her exam and split up to go shower. Harry had made it back to the office first and was now waiting for Duo to show up. It was as Harry started tapping his fingers in boredom that he realized he was alone in Duo's office. He sat up, staring at the computer.

Quickly, Harry pulled out his wand and waved it over the keyboard. The keys lit up briefly before returning to normal. Harry sat back, trying to act natural. He couldn't believe he'd almost missed the perfect opportunity to cast a duplication charm on Duo's computer. Duo was sure to log into his computer when he got there and the spell would copy his password.

Suddenly feeling nervous, Harry tried to relax and act natural. He leaned down in his chair before sitting up quickly and sitting straight. When that didn't feel natural, Harry stood, leaning against the desk. He sighed and shook his head.

"Just act natural," he said to himself out loud. "Stop acting like an idiot."

"Who's an idiot?"

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin when Duo entered the office in time to hear him talking to himself. That was one thing Harry didn't like about muggles in general; he couldn't sense them. When he focused, Harry could sense the magical energies of wizards or creatures nearby, making it very difficult to sneak up on him. But with muggles, there was no magical energy so he had to rely on his normal senses. In the case of Duo and the other former pilots, his normal senses were not good enough.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Harry asked, ignoring the question.

"Sorry, was talking to a friend."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, he promised to explain himself later tonight so I won't worry until then." Duo sat in his chair while Harry took a seat across from him. Harry felt his heart skip a beat as Duo typed his password and logged onto the system.

"So we've got a pretty easy day," Duo spoke. "Just a couple of routine things. We're going to help the local police transferring some prisoners and that'll take most of the day."

Harry nodded, resting his chin in his hand. "Do we have any missions this week?"

Duo glanced at the computer screen. "Heero's got us scheduled to go to Cambridge tomorrow and provide security for one the museums. It's getting an exhibit of rare and priceless jewels so we're going to do a security check and then stay for the opening day."

Harry nodded. "Sounds good. When do we leave for today's mission?"

"Pretty soon."

Duo logged off his computer and switched the monitor off before walking towards the door. Harry stood to follow but stopped in confusion when Duo shut the door and clicked the lock into place. He turned around with a slightly wicked gleam in his eye. Harry was immediately on the defensive as Duo calmly stalked forward.

"I'm really getting sick of people interrupting me," he explained.

Harry took half a step back but didn't try to run when Duo linked their hands. He glanced away briefly, feeling shy, before shaking the feeling away. School or no school, he was still a Gryffindor. He wasn't going to turn away like some blushing virgin. Harry met Duo's eyes with a mischievous look of his own.

"Well maybe you should have better timing," Harry teased.

"Maybe you should shut up."

"Maybe you should make me."

Duo didn't need anymore of an invitation than that. He quickly pressed his lips to the younger man's and both felt a shock pass through their bodies. Harry instantly felt like puddy in Duo's hold, his legs going weak and his lips tingling with pleasure. Maybe it was all the time they had spent flirting, but Harry had never felt such an intense kiss. His head was spinning and for a moment he forgot to breath.

For his part, Duo was taken back by the sheer intensity of their kiss. He had meant to keep things sweet, innocent. He really just wanted to know if their was a physical spark between the two to possibly take their friendship up a level. He had never expected to have his breath stolen and feel a deep desire in his chest for the younger man. The magnitude of their kiss caught him off guard. Duo knew he was quick to like someone, but he had never felt so much raw emotion from a single kiss.

When the two finally broke apart both were breathing hard. Duo had managed to press Harry against the desk so the teen was half leaning, half sitting on it. He stared up at Duo with dark eyes and Duo's grip on his hand tightened slightly as desire shot through his body at the look. The sound of knocking interrupted the moment and Duo swung around, gaping at the office door.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" he snapped.

He stalked over the door, fully intending to rip the person on the other side a new one, but to his confusion, there was no one there. Tilting his head, Duo looked up and down the empty hall before turning back to Harry. The teen calmly lifted his fist and knocked on the wooden desk. Duo stared at him.

"That's not funny."

Harry could barely keep a straight face. "It's a little funny."

A small chuckled escaped his lips and Duo scowled. A second later Harry was laughing loudly, unable to control himself while looking at Duo's annoyed face. The braided man just rolled his eyes and shoved Harry towards the door.

"Let's go, we've got guard duty."

Harry glanced over his shoulder, feeling like a giddy school-child. Duo smiled back and winked as the two left together, standing much closer than they usually did. As Harry was lost in a cloud of happiness, he completely forgot about his duplication spell.

*!*!*!*

Later that day, Duo dropped James off at his apartment and told him to bring an overnight bag for their mission tomorrow. After stealing a not-so-quick kiss from the younger boy, Duo said farewell and drove to Trowa and Quatre's mansion. While he was curious about what was going on with his friends, all he could focus on was James. Never had he felt such intense emotion and passion when sharing a kiss with someone.

Duo was no stranger to making out or casual one time only things. Barely two years ago he had been known around the Preventers as one of the biggest playboys in the organization. It started after he and Heero had broken up because they both realized that while they loved each other, they were not _in_ love with one another. Duo had seen the way Heero watched Wufei and vice versa and graciously stepped aside, knowing his best friend would be happier that way.

Even though Duo didn't regret his choice, the loneliness eventually began to get to him. Trowa and Quatre were happy together and Wufei and Heero were as well, leaving Duo by himself more often than not. Instead of dealing with his feelings, Duo decided to find someone new and thus became known as a playboy. He slept with those he felt worthy of his attention and played around with a few others just to pass the time. He never cared about any of his flings and was always gone the next morning before they woke up.

It didn't take long before Quatre was showing up at his home, asking questions and trying to invite him over as often as possible to try and stem the tide of people Duo kept seeing. The blonde enlisted the help of the others, not liking where Duo's life was heading. In retrospect, it was this worry that probably saved Duo's life and spirit.

It had been almost a year ago. Duo had been flirting with a man, Johnathon, a couple years older than himself. Johnathon (never John, he hated to be called that) was a seemingly innocent twenty-something with platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The classic combination had drawn Duo's attention and he had pursued Johnathon in the same way he did all his lovers. He charmed him with smiles, made him laugh with lame jokes, and showered him with compliments and gifts. It hadn't taken long for the two to get together and for Duo to bring Johnathon home for a night of fun.

That night Quatre had asked Heero to go to Duo's apartment and check on him. Heero had agreed and Duo was thankful everyday that he had such paranoid and protective friends. Johnathon, as it turned out, had some terrible mental issues. He had a nasty habit of killing the people he slept with so that no one else may ever have them. He had tried to stab Duo in the heart but years of growing up on the streets and in the war had honed Duo's survival skills to an unnatural level. He had woken up just in time to roll to the side so Johnathon's knife plunged into his ribs instead of his heart.

Before Johnathon could try again, Heero appeared to check on his friend and, when he realized what was happening, shot the man straight through the eyes, killing him instantly.

Duo scowled at the passing cars as he vividly recalled the horrible night. Heero had called for an ambulance but Duo could barely think about his life-threatening wounds. All he could think was that Heero had killed someone. Heero had broken his promise to never kill again for him.

For the first time since he was a child, Duo had cried. He had apologized over and over to Heero, begging for forgiveness. He knew how much Heero hated killing. And because of his own foolishness, his refusal to face his issues and instead drown his loneliness in empty relationships, Heero had been forced to kill.

Days after he'd recovered from the stabbing, Duo went to Heero again, intending to apologize and swearing he would make it up to him.

"I'm so sorry," Duo had said, his eyes pointed down. "I'm so sorry you had to do this for me."

Heero, of course, answered simply and directly. "I'm not. You are worth breaking my promise for."

After that, Duo had gotten himself back together. He stopped sleeping around and grew up. He decided being alone for awhile would be a good thing and threw himself into his work. Honestly, Duo was fine with how things were.

And then James had come along.

Duo had noticed right away he was cute. His eyes were gorgeous, his messy hair was charming, his smile genuine. Physically, he was what Duo looked for in a lover. But Duo had ignored the attraction, even when he caught James staring at him more than once. It wasn't until they became partners and Duo got to know the younger man that he allowed himself to consider a relationship. Both Heero and Wufei had trained the kid and liked him, and that went a long way in making up Duo's mind about pursuing James.

It had been fun and Duo admitted he liked the fact that James didn't fall for him right away. He wasn't looking for a fling, but an actual relationship. Duo was done with casual and James was definitely not the casual type anyway. They flirted back and forth for weeks before Duo finally made his move and, even then, James made him work for it.

Duo smiled as he pulled into Quatre's driveway and parked his car. James was not going to be a fling. He liked the younger man enough to try and have an actual relationship with him. He would do things right this time. Duo would go slow, get to know him, maybe even open himself up a little. He trusted James and was actually excited to think about what their future could hold.

Quatre opened the door when Duo knocked and the braided haired man grinned. "Hey Q-ball! Got your invite."

"Thank you for coming," Quatre said, flashing a tired smile his way. Duo frowned in concern. "Heero and Wufei are already here, please come and sit. Would you like a drink?"

"No thanks." Duo nodded hello to his friends before flopping down in one of Quatre's oversized living room chairs. "So what's going on my friends?"

Duo looked at Trowa, who seemed as worn out as Quatre. Heero and Wufei noticed it too and were watching the couple with concern.

"We wanted to talk to the three of you about something," Quatre began.

"About James?" Duo asked. Heero and Wufei turned to him in surprise. "Trowa had Sally call him in for some bogus physical this morning."

The three turned to Trowa expectantly and he answered in a quiet voice. "Sally has confirmed through DNA testing that James Porter is my half-brother."

Duo felt his jaw drop. To his left, Wufei and Heero were staring at their friend as though he'd grown a second head. Trowa stared at them calmly, waiting for them to get over their shock.

"You sure?" Duo asked.

Trowa nodded. "The physical this morning was an excuse to draw another blood sample and confirm the findings. According to Sally, we share a mother."

"James doesn't have any family," Duo said. "He's told me before his parents died when he was baby."

"Obviously we don't know the while story," Quatre said. "The reason we called the three of you was to tell you the news and because all of you know James better than us. Wufei, Heero, you both trained him, and Duo, he's your partner."

"Does Porter know?" Wufei asked.

Trowa shook his head. "I haven't decided what I want to do next."

"He's a good kid," Duo said. "He's kind and honest. A good fighter too."

"He is dedicated and good at following orders," Heero put in. "His physical prowess is impressive for someone his age."

Quatre smiled. "We were thinking more about what his personality is like than his physical ability."

"You may read our reports on him, if you'd like," Wufei offered. "We had to evaluate him when we promoted him."

Duo felt a flash of annoyance at Wufei's offer that surprised him. He had read the reports too but for some reason, having Wufei offer it to Trowa as a way to get to know James without actually having to talk to him rubbed Duo the wrong way.

"Thank you," Quatre nodded. "But in the meantime..."

"He's not very observant when it comes to people," Wufei said. "He is a strong leader when needed but socially he is awkward."

"He lives in a box," Duo put in and smiled to himself. "I mean that figuratively. Like, he doesn't get out much."

"Are you going to inform him?" Heero asked.

Quatre glanced at Trowa who shrugged uncomfortably. "We're not sure. We want to but..."

"But with my past, we're unsure of how he would take things. Being friends or partners with a former terrorist is different than being related to one. I have a complicated history that I may not want to subject him to."

"He won't care about what you did in the war," Duo said with certainty. James knew some of what Duo had done and he still liked him.

"You should get to know him," Wufei suggested. "I determined him to be an honorable person while we trained together."

"And a hard worker," Heero added.

Trowa nodded and turned to Duo. "You both have a mission to Cambridge tomorrow, correct? I would like to tag along, if you don't mind."

"That's fine with me." Duo shrugged. Secretly he didn't like the idea. He was looking forward to spending some time alone with his new potential boyfriend. But this was much more important than a budding romance. This was his friend finding family.

"Thank you," Trowa said. "Wufei, when you get a chance, I would like to read your reports."

"I can access them from Quatre's study."

The two stood and left, Heero following. Quatre paused and turned to Duo. "Are you okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah, fine. So you guys really think James is Trowa's brother?"

"We're positive. DNA doesn't lie and Sally ran the tests herself, so there's no mistake. Trowa's pretty shaken up by it. He doesn't know what to do."

"Yeah, it's kinda mind blowing."

"Thank you for letting him go with you tomorrow, I know it's short notice."

Duo shrugged dismissively. "It's not a problem."

"And please Duo, keep an eye on him. Trowa's not good with people and he's very nervous. He could use his friends right now, even if he doesn't act like it."

Duo smiled and placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Of course, Q-ball. Don't worry about the Beast-man, I'll make sure he's okay."

Quatre smiled sincerely. "Thank you."

**A/N: So the plan was after this to go back to normal update speed... then I wrote ch12. It was seventeen pages when I finished it so I broke it into two chapters and I want to post them so bad! So after ch13, we're going back to normal update speed. **

**So thank you all so much for the reviews! I love how so many of you are picking up on all the little mistakes Harry and crew are making. It makes me so happy because I _want_ you to notice those things.**

**What'd you think of this chapter? I pondered for awhile about Duo's monologue but I figured he and Harry have been working together for months and flirting for a long time so, even though they only just had their first kiss, he's already pretty smitten. Harry too, for that matter, but Harry's going to resist a little more than Duo.**

**So everyone, please tell me what you think! I'm so eager to hear your thoughts! Please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I'm worried I'm going to have to up this story to an M rating in later chapters. Not sure yet. **

**So this chapter has Trowa awkwardly trying (and kinda failing) to get to know Harry while they're on a mission. I must admit that out of Chapters 12 and 13, this is the boring one. But I still tried to make it a little interesting.**

**Also I'm sorry I'm so bad at responding to reviews. Please know that I read every single one of them (some of them more than once) and I appreciate all your thoughts and comments.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Twelve:**

"How long's your mission going to be?" Iien asked, lying on his bunk casually as he watched Harry pack. His ankle was fully healed and he was back on active duty starting tomorrow.

"Just until tomorrow," Harry answered as he finished zipping up his bag. "The museum wanted extra security for opening day because of the string of robberies that have been happening."

"Don't I know about that," Iien muttered bitterly. The reason for his ankle being hurt in the first place was because he and Trowa had been chasing a jewel thief who got away.

Harry shrugged on his backpack and nodded to his friend. "Take care."

"Be careful."

"I will."

Harry was running late so he decided to apparate to headquarters. There was an alley in the back of the building where no one ever went and Harry had built a small barrier to appear behind, just in case someone did wander into the alleyway. It came in handy on days like today when he couldn't afford to be late.

Harry appeared behind his barrier and hurried to the front of the building. He rode the elevator upstairs, feeling a little nervous. He wasn't worried about the mission but being alone with Duo for the entire night. The conversation he'd had with Hermione the night before was still echoing through his head.

Harry had apparated to her apartment, not wanting to talk through their bracelet. Out of the three of them, Hermione was the only one who lived alone. Harry shared a place with Iien and Ron now shared a decent sized apartment with his co-worker Thomas. Hermione's place had two rooms, a full sized bath and living room, and a rather small kitchen. It was kept perfectly neat except for the piles of books scattered about in organized chaos.

When Harry had arrived, Hermione had just gotten off work and was making herself some tea. She had happily invited him in and made him a cup as well.

"Not that I don't love the surprise visit, but what's going on?" she asked. "It's not the best idea for us to visit each other in person."

"I know, I just wanted to talk and didn't want to use the bracelet." Harry fiddled with his cup, not sure where to start.

"What's wrong?" She disappeared briefly down the hall, pulling her uniform off as she went. If Harry leaned back he could see her changing in her bedroom.

"Well I messed up," Harry began. "I was alone in Duo's office for awhile and realized it was the perfect chance to cast the duplication charm on his computer."

Hermione's excited voice came from her room. "You got his password?"

"Well..." Harry set his tea down and leaned back into the couch. "I almost did. I cast the charm and he typed his password, I just... forgot to get it before the charm wore off."

"What do you mean you forgot?"

Harry rushed through his next sentence, feeling a little embarrassed. "I mean he kissed me and it was so amazing I kinda forgot about everything else."

Hermione entered the living room wearing a comfortable pair of form fitting sweats and light t-shirt. She was frowning deeply and Harry glanced away, knowing he was about to get lectured.

"Harry, I've said this before and I mean it, now is not the time to start a relationship. You can not have a relationship with someone built on lies. Duo doesn't even know your name."

Harry sighed. "I know, I know. And I agree with you, I do! But..." he looked at his hands. "But I just couldn't help myself. He's so perfect. He's kind and funny, and really good looking. I mean, his eyes! They're such a strange color but it works and when he looks at you you can't help but to just... get swept away."

Hermione came to sit next to her friend. "Harry, you have a crush, and that's okay. But you can't let it get any deeper than that. You can't let yourself fall for him or vice versa."

"But Hermione..."

She held up her hand for silence and Harry obeyed. "I want you to imagine the conversation where you tell him your real name."

"What?"

"Not about magic or who you are, just imagine you two have been dating for awhile and you tell him your real name. How would he react?"

He shrugged. "Probably angry, betrayed. He wouldn't be happy with me."

"Exactly. The longer you lead him on, the harder it will be to tell the truth and for him to hear the truth. Not to mention we're not going to be here forever. Once we finish the mission, we're going back home and our cover identities are going to vanish."

Harry looked away. "Then I'll just keep things casual. Maybe just like, friends with benefits or something."

"Harry."

The teen refused to look at his friend. He knew that wouldn't work either. He shouldn't pursue a relationship, no matter how casual, with Duo at all. It would just end with both of them getting their hearts broken.

Hermione placed her hand on his. "It really does suck that the first person you fall for since Ginny is someone you can't go after. Don't be discouraged, Harry. You'll find someone. Just not right now."

"Yeah... right..."

Back in the elevator, Harry shook his head of his thoughts. The doors dinged and opened and he made his way to Duo's office. He was surprised when he entered and Duo wasn't alone, but Trowa Barton was with him. Harry smiled and greeted them both.

"Good morning."

"Hey kid," Duo answered. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah."

"Cool." Duo gestured to the chair next to Trowa. "We'll leave in a few minutes. Heero and I talked it over and decided Trowa's going to come with us."

Harry glanced at the man questioningly.

"On my last mission, I was chasing a jewel thief who managed to escape by unknown means. We have reason to believe he might strike again at the museum opening and want to be prepared."

"Okay," Harry nodded. Secretly he was glad for Trowa's presence. It would damper any alone time he might get with Duo.

There was a knock on the door and everyone turned to it curiously. Duo called for the person to enter and Harry was surprised when Ron walked in.

"Hullo," he greeted, a little awkward. "Uh, sorry to interrupt, Quatre told me to come here." He held out a small piece of paper to Trowa. "He said to give you this and to let you know I was assigned to your mission today."

"Really?" Harry asked in surprise.

Trowa read the note before handing it over to Duo, who read it and rolled his eyes. "Looks like it. Quatre wants you to get more field experience and thinks this is the perfect mission for it."

"Brilliant," Harry grinned. "Now they'll have someone else to boss around besides me."

"Hurry and go pack whatever you need for a night. Meet us in the parking garage in half an hour and we'll leave then," Duo ordered.

"Yes sir," Ron said quickly. "Is there anything particular I should bring or is a change of clothes good enough?"

"I'll help you," Harry offered, standing quickly. "You're place isn't far, right?"

After the trainees left, Trowa turned to Duo, who looked annoyed. He was scowling lightly at Quatre's note.

"I get that he wants me to teach his trainee so you two can spend some time alone together, but come on. Sending the guy in here with a note? What'd Quat think I'd say? No?"

"He's just trying to help," Trowa answered.

"Yeah, yeah. Well I'll take Windborne and we'll scout the perimeter and look for possible entry points and get him some field training. You and the kid will check the security systems from the control room. Don't get too distracted though. James isn't the best with computers so he could use the experience."

Trowa nodded. "Agreed."

*!*!*

The group of four parked the car a few blocks away from the museum and climbed out. The car ride had been fairly quite with no one having a lot to say. Harry and Ron were happy to get to work together again but had to act cool in front of the other two.

"So why are we parking here?" Ron asked.

Duo grabbed a backpack from the trunk and tossed it to the redhead. Trowa took another one and slung it over his shoulder.

"Our mission starts now," Duo explained. "We've been hired to make sure the security system in this place is top notch. The museum guys already have it up and running and ready to go. We're going to see how ready it is by breaking in."

"We're breaking into the place we're trying to protect?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Makes sense to me," Ron shrugged. Harry stared at him.

"Don't act like you know more than me."

Ron stared back. "Don't act like an idiot."

They glared a moment longer before breaking into snickers. Duo and Trowa shared a confused look before shrugging.

"Well Quatre wants you to get field experience so you'll be with me, Windborne."

"Porter, you and I will attempt to take out the computer system," Trowa explained.

"Sure, but call me James. I'm not big on formalities."

Trowa nodded slowly and glanced away, confusing Harry. Duo stepped in quickly before things got awkward.

"Okay, so these guys don't know we're coming so make sure you have ID on you in case you get caught. Whoever breaks in first wins!"

"Wins what?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," Harry rolled his eyes. "The only thing you win is Duo bragging or pouting. Both are equally obnoxious."

Duo shot him a look. "Just for that, I'm kicking your ass. Let's go, Windborne."

The two left without another word, Ron waving over his shoulder casually. Harry turned to Trowa.

"Do you have a place in mind to start or do you want to scout things out first?"

"We should scout," Trowa answered. "We will go in the opposite direction of the other two."

"Okay."

As they walked, Trowa felt awkward. Now would be a good time to try and get to know the other boy but he wasn't sure what to say or ask. The quiet between the two of them was heavy and, if Trowa had any less self control, he would have started fidgeting.

In the end it was James who saved them from the awkward silence with a simple question. "So you fought with Duo in the war, right?"

Trowa glanced at him in surprise. "Yes."

"And Heero, Wufei, and Quatre too? The five of you were Gundam Pilots."

"I was unaware you knew that," Trowa said.

"It wasn't hard to figure out. I knew Duo was a pilot and it was pretty obvious Heero was one. I just put two and two together after that." He looked at him curiously. "So no one knows that you used to pilot the Gundams?"

"It is not common knowledge. Those in power and who work with the military are aware but the general public does not know our identities. It is how we prefer it."

James looked up towards the sky wistfully. "Yeah, I can only imagine."

Trowa was confused by the cryptic statement but decided not to ask. He didn't want to speak of his time in the war anymore than necessary. Though it was a slight weight off his mind to find out James already knew about some of his past. He wouldn't have to explain being a Gundam pilot.

They arrived at the gates to the museum and paused to look around. The museum was huge. It spanned three buildings, all which were connected by catwalks. A six foot tall iron fence topped with spikes surrounded the entire enclosure. Two guards were stationed at every entrance and behind them was a ticket booth filled with another two guards and a salesperson. The museum was open today but it wasn't very busy, as most people were waiting until tomorrow when the main exhibit opened to go.

"Not a lot of people," Harry commented. "That'll make it easier to get around."

"Incorrect," Trowa answered. Harry glanced at him curiously. "Depending on the situation crowds can be helpful or harmful. We are attempting to break in to this place so a crowd of people would be helpful, as we would be able to blend in more."

Harry nodded. "So are we going to look for weak spots?"

"No, we are going to buy a ticket and walk in."

Trowa made his way to the gate and Harry hurried to follow. "How is buying a ticket breaking in?"

"Our main focus is to take out the security system. Duo and Windborne will be the ones to look for holes in the security perimeter."

They entered the first building and Trowa lead them off to the side, leaning casually against the wall and watching the door, looking as though he were waiting for someone.

"How many cameras can you see from here?"

Harry turned and looked up but Trowa stopped him.

"You are being too obvious."

Harry startled and nodded quickly. He forced a smile and leaned against the wall next to Trowa. He alternated between watching the door and glancing around the crowds, looking as though he were searching for someone.

"Better," Trowa congratulated. "Now remember to act natural and don't forget to look at me as well. Act as though we are having a normal conversation while waiting for a friend."

Harry glanced at him and smiled. "Okay." He looked back towards the door before making an annoyed sound. "I sure wish our buddy would show up already. He's late."

Trowa nodded, pleased that James thought to take the act a step further by actually talking about their pretend friend. He did a good job acting the part of an annoyed bystander as he glanced around the room. After a minute he looked at Trowa.

"I see seven from here."

"There are nine," Trowa informed him. "Look again."

Harry glanced at his wrist, acting like he was checking the time. He frowned as he looked around the crowd and began searching for the other cameras.

"The eighth one is right above the entrance looking straight down," he said quietly. "But I can't find the ninth camera."

"Look up."

Confused, Harry looked directly above them and was startled to see a camera above their heads.

"We are standing in it's blind spot," Trowa explained. "People on a whole often forget to look up when searching for something. You must be aware of all of your surroundings at all times."

Trowa began walking towards the exhibits and Harry followed. He kept his eyes moving, constantly on the look out for anything suspicious. Trowa glanced at him and smiled lightly to himself. He was glad James was taking the mission seriously but he really wasn't the best at stealth or blending in with crowds.

"You're acting suspicious," Trowa informed him casually, stopping before a huge display of dinosaur fossils. "You must learn to look around you without being noticeable."

Harry stopped glancing around and instead stared up at the dinosaur bones. "I'm sorry, I'm not very good at stealth stuff like this. Duo's way better than me."

"He mentioned you had trouble with this area, which is why he wanted you to come with me."

Harry glanced at Trowa, curious. "Are you better than him?"

"Out of the group, Duo and I are most apt at stealth missions."

"Not Heero?"

"Heero is too... straightforward at times."

Harry chuckled before facing Trowa. "Where the two security guards are standing right now, is that what we're looking for?"

Trowa glanced over briefly before nodding and leading the way to a different exhibit, closer to the guards. A control panel was built into the wall and lit up. Trowa casually shrugged off his bag and dug threw it, pulling out a small device. He handed it to Harry.

"When the guards' backs are turned, walk by the panel casually and stick this device into one of its ports. I will be near the restrooms waiting."

Harry nodded and took the small thumb drive. Trowa left towards the bathroom and Harry wandered in the other direction. He stopped with a group of people to stare at a display of cavemen. Being mindful of Trowa's instruction, Harry tried to act casual as he moved to the far side of the display where he could see the guards better. They both turned away, chatting easily with one other, and Harry made his move. He was careful not to run or act hurried as he walked behind the men. As he passed the panel, Harry managed to stick the thumb drive into a socket and keep walking without missing a beat. The guards didn't even glance his way.

Feeling proud, Harry made it to the bathrooms and found Trowa sitting on a bench with his laptop on his lap. With his backpack next to him he looked like nothing more than an ordinary student taking advantage of the museum's free internet. Harry sat next to him, facing the opposite direction so they could see from all sides.

"Okay what next?"

"How are your hacking skills?"

"Nearly non-existent."

Trowa nodded absently as he brought up the program for hacking into security systems. Quietly, he instructed Harry what to do and how to break into secure places. Harry listened intently, doing his best to memorize everything. He wandered if he could apply any of these skills to the computers back at Headquarters. It would be a lot easier to be able to hack a computer than try and get someone's password.

As they worked, Harry kept a close eye on the security guards around them. They all seemed rather bored with their jobs and barely paid any attention to the crowds. Harry glanced at the screen and noticed a red light.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Duo. They tripped a silent alarm." Trowa then punched a few keys rapidly and the light stopped. "I deactivated that particular alarm."

"So is this good security or not?" Harry asked.

Trowa shrugged lightly. "It is better than most I've seen. There are a few holes that I shall fix later. Their system isn't the problem, it's the guards themselves and access points. They have too few guards and far too many weak spots. We will probably focus on relocating personal and..." Trowa glanced at the bored guards around them. "...encourage the guards to be more alert."

"I think the one at the door just fell asleep standing."

They sat together for a few more minutes before Harry started to get bored. He glanced at the computer screen but nothing had changed. Every few minutes a red light would appear, indicating where Ron and Duo were, and Trowa would access the system to shut down the silent alarm. The other two were systematically working around the entire museum complex, marking weak spots in the security.

"So how's Quatre doing?" Harry asked out of the blue. Trowa looked up in surprise.

"Quatre?"

"Yeah, I've only met him a couple times but he seems really nice. And Arthur likes him."

"He is doing well."

"What does he do, exactly?" Harry leaned forward and rested his chin in his hands. "He has an office at HQ but I've never heard of him going on missions."

"Quatre does not go on missions unless he is needed. He mostly focuses on training and running his company."

"Running his company?"

"Yes, he is the current CEO of Winner Enterprises."

Harry' mouth dropped open. "He's the CEO? I thought he just... worked there or something. I didn't know he ran the whole thing."

"His sister's help, but he has the final say in matters."

Harry was stunned by the news. He leaned back on his hands and shook his head. "He must be really smart. To be able to run a company so young and work with Preventers? How does he not pass out from exhaustion?"

Trowa smiled as he thought of his young lover. Quatre truly was an impressive person. "There have been times when I have had to force him to stop and rest, but normally he is very good at balancing work and sleep."

Harry shook his head again. "You guys are the most impressive people I've ever met. The things you're capable of and have accomplished in the past..." Harry's voice turned wistful. "You're the ones they should be calling Savior, not me."

"What?"

Harry blinked and looked down at the screen. "Red light!" he exclaimed.

Trowa, who mentally scolded himself for being distracted, quickly shut down the silent alarm. It took a long minute for the light to stop flashing and when it finally did, both Trowa and Harry let out a breath.

"They are almost complete," Trowa announced. "They have made it the third building." He shut the laptop and stood. "There is no point to shutting off the alarms now. We will let them go and see how long it takes for the police and security to respond. The control room is this way."

Trowa lead the way confidently down the halls and past doors labeled "No Admittance" or "Authorized Personal Only." The few guards that attempted to stop them were left speechless when the flashed their Preventer Badges. It wasn't often ordinary security guards got to see a First Class Preventer Agent wandering casually around the hallways.

They arrived at a large room and Trowa entered. A woman of average build and height whipped around, her long brown hair slapping her face, and scowled at them with narrowed gray eyes. She looked them both up and down once before straightening.

"Are you two the so-called agents the Preventers sent us?"

"Yes."

Trowa offered no pleasantries and neither did the woman. She openly displayed her dislike of the younger men before turning around. "My bosses informed me that you were coming but I'll tell you what I told them; my system is running perfectly. Everything is ready to go for tomorrow's exhibit."

"You security is impressive but there are holes and room for improvement," Trowa told the woman calmly. She jerked around, glaring.

"And I suppose you're here because you already know where those 'holes' are?"

"Most of them, yes," Trowa nodded. "But don't take our word for it, see for yourself."

Trowa gestured for Harry to stay close and leaned against a wall, crossing his arms and watching the room in a seemingly bored fashion. Harry stood next him, trying to act nonchalant as well. The security leader stared at them before turning to her screens. A silent alarm went off and she leapt at it.

"Bring up the live feed for that section!"

The workers did as told and the large computer screen was split into four sections, each one showing the view from a different camera. There was no one to be seen and the cameras began turning back and forth, searching for intruders. A hand appeared on the bottom corner of one camera and waved. It was gone a second later and the backs of two people were seen running off.

"I want guards from Section A to report to Section C immediately. We have intruders! Seal off the exits and catwalks."

"How long does it usually take for the police to respond to a silent alarm?" Trowa asked. The woman ignored him, not even bothering to look his way.

"Wow, she does not like you," Harry teased. Trowa nodded.

They watched silently for a few more minutes as Duo and Ron evaded the security guards. They never attempted to steal anything and the police arrived seven minutes after the alarms sounded, making Trowa shake his head in disapproval. The police station was barely two blocks away. They should have a better response time.

When Duo finally stopped running and got caught, Harry was fairly certain it was because he was bored, not cornered. He and Ron were brought to the security room where the woman in charge faced them angrily, crossing her arms and glaring harshly. Duo was not impressed.

"That was pathetic," he announced cheerfully. "No wonder you guys asked us to help out." "My security system—"

Trowa interrupted the woman before she could go on a tirade. "Is not the problem. Your system is adequate but your staff is severely under trained and lacks any form of self discipline. The opening is tomorrow. I would suggest you tell everyone who is here to expect to stay late and anyone who is not here, you should call them immediately."

"Yeah, we got a lot more work to do than we expected," Duo agreed. "So let's get to it!"

The woman looked extremely put out but in the end she didn't argue.

**A/N: Originally I wanted to write the scene where Duo is teaching Ron but every time I tried, it came out bad or just killed my creative spirit. So in the end I decided to just scrap it. If writing a scene kills my creative mood then I stop writing that scene. I'd rather have the story suffer a little bit then not have it written at all.**

**So this weekend is Easter (Happy Easter everyone!) and is really busy at my work. (I work as a banquets cook at a hotel.) Because of this I don't know when the next update will be. I will trying to update on the weekend but it might not happen. Monday will be the absolute latest. (Jinx.) So until then, please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: So I got a PM from someone on this sight saying she was so glad to see I was writing again and that she was a fan of my stuff from way back when. I was so flattered by her message that I might have blushed. Might have.**

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Those of you that write know how much reviews and kind words mean to an author and those of you that don't, please know that you are appreciated.**

**Now enough of my sappiness! Enjoy this awesome chapter complete with lots of magic and a jewel thief!**

**Chapter Thirteen:**

Harry flopped down on his bed and sighed in pleasure to finally be off his feet. They had been working all day long on improving the security system at the museum and training all of the guards. The guards had _not_ been okay with being taught and corrected by four people a lot younger than them and complained the whole while. At one point, Ron had lost his temper and attempted to punch one of them who "had been working in this business for twenty-five years without a problem" in his old, wrinkly face, but Trowa stepped in and told him that wasn't allowed, no matter how much the guy deserved it.

Now it was nearly midnight and the four had retired to their hotel rooms to get some much needed rest. They would need to be back at the museum at seven am sharp and would be there until it closed at eight pm. It was going to be a long, hard day.

On the bed next Harry's, Ron collapsed and rolled onto his back. "You know, I wish Hermione was here to see me."

"Why?"

"I think she would be proud of me for how well I handled my temper today."

"You tried to punch a fifty year old security officer in the face."

"Yeah but other than that, I think I did really good job not cursing everyone there."

Harry laughed and rolled over to his side. "Well when you tell Hermione how well you did, I'll back you up so she knows you're not exaggerating."

"Thanks mate!"

Harry stretched and sat up. "So how'd it go with Duo today? Did you learn anything from watching him?"

"A lot, yeah. It was really interesting because when we were looking for weak spots, I kept thinking like a wizard. I kept seeing places that would be perfect for apparating but he would point out all the blind spots for the cameras or access points I wouldn't even think to use."

"Like what?"

"Vents and sewers. Can you believe some muggles will crawl through sewers just to get into the building unseen?"

Harry made a face and nodded. "I've heard of it before. That takes a dedicated thief."

"Yeah... anyways, he's pretty cool. I haven't really gotten a lot of one on one time with him." Ron sat up and looked at Harry seriously. "And he's really into you, Harry."

"What?"

"I mean he kept asking questions about you and talking about you." Ron shrugged. "I know Hermione said to not get involved but Duo's pretty cool. If things were different, I'd say go for it."

"Wow, he must have really made an impression on you."

Ron nodded and stood. "I guess so. I'm going to take a shower and then go to bed. You?"

"I'll take one when you're done."

Ron nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. Harry walked over to the interior door of their room and knocked before opening it. They had been given adjoining hotel rooms with a door inside the rooms that connected them. Duo was sitting on his bed, looking over schematics of the museum. Harry could hear the shower running, meaning Trowa was in the bathroom.

"What's up, kid?" Duo asked, glancing his way.

"Just waiting my turn," Harry shrugged, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the bathroom. Duo nodded as his eyes went back to his papers. "Don't you know this place inside and out yet?"

"Just making sure," Duo answered, smiling lightly. "Don't wanna get caught off guard."

"I would pay a lot of money to see you get caught off guard."

Duo grunted. "You'd spend a lot of money for nothing."

Harry nodded and rested his head on Duo's shoulder as he looked at the white and blue schematics. He had never seen schematics before coming to the Preventers and so had a hard time understanding them. Harry closed his eyes, feeling tired from the day's work.

"Comfy?" Duo asked, his voice amused.

Harry hmm-ed and smiled lightly. He was still conflicted about what to do about his and Duo's budding relationship but right now all Harry wanted was to sleep and Duo's shoulder was the most comfortable place he could think of. The other man's warmth seeped into Harry and made him smile in content.

"Don't fall asleep on me," Duo ordered.

"I'm not."

"Sure..." Duo shrugged his shoulders, dislodging Harry. The boy grumbled in complaint and sat up with a slight pout. Duo smiled at him and leaned forward, catching Harry in a sweet kiss. Duo had promised himself he wouldn't make anymore advances on his young partner until Trowa had figured things out but with Harry looking adorably tired and slightly pouty, the braided man simply couldn't resist.

Just like before, the kiss took his breath away. His lips tingled with pleasure and desire shot through his whole body. Harry made a tiny sound of pleasure as he pressed closer to Duo, unable to stop himself. He brought his hand up to touch Duo's cheek just as the door to the bathroom opened and Trowa stepped out, his hair wet from his shower.

"Oh..."

Harry quickly pulled away, blushing brightly. He glanced at Trowa, slightly embarrassed, before standing.

"You really do have terrible timing," Harry teased Duo before nodding goodnight to both men and returning to his room.

When he was gone, Duo glanced at Trowa, who looked slightly confused. Duo blinked in surprise. He had never noticed until that moment that Trowa and James had the exact same expression when confused about something.

"I did not know you were in a... romantic relationship with James."

Duo shrugged awkwardly. "We're not really. We're kinda just figuring it out."

"Why did you not say anything?"

"I didn't want to make things weird for you."

Trowa nodded and sat down, toweling his hair mostly dry. "Please do not change your behavior because of me. You're happiness is as important to me as finding lost family. Perhaps more so."

Duo stared at his friend in surprise. He knew Trowa cared for him, they all cared for each other deeply, but to hear the words out loud was always nice. It warmed Duo's heart to be reminded that the others cared for him as much as he did for them.

"James is a good kid. He's not going to care that you were a pilot or mercenary. When you're ready, you should tell him the truth."

Trowa nodded slightly and lay down, lost in thought.

*!*!*

Harry sipped at his cup of coffee as he stood in the main exhibit room, double checking their preparations. It was seven am and already lines of people were waiting outside the museum doors to get in as soon as it opened at eight. All the security guards were at their posts and the alarm system was armed and ready to go. Ron walked up next to him and looked down at the priceless necklace in the center of the room. It was a rare blue stone surrounded by pure diamonds on a chain made of one hundred percent gold. It sparkled under the display lights and was eye catching from all directions.

"So this is it?" Ron asked. "This is the main attraction? Everyone's coming to see this necklace?"

"Yeah, it's priceless," Harry answered. "It once belonged to the first queen of England and was pasted down her family line until it was stolen by thieves. They only just found it again a year ago and proved it's authenticity."

"Is it cursed?"

"No, why?"

"Is it charmed then? Or a protection talisman?"

Harry shook his head. "No, it's just a necklace."

"All this...?" Ron gestured around them. "For an ordinary necklace?" He stared at it in confusion. "I mean it's pretty and... shiny."

"Shiny?" Harry repeated. He took a sip of his coffee to hide him smile. "You are so lucky Hermione is not a jewelry type of girl."

Trowa and Duo walked up to them and glanced at the necklace. "Everything ready?" Duo asked.

Harry nodded. "Everything's in place and set to go."

"Good, so here's how we're going to work today. Trowa is going to stay in the security room with that God-awful woman in charge of security—her name's Kirsten or something right?"

Trowa nodded.

"Right her. So Trowa's going to stay with her while I'm going to patrol around the exhibit incognito. You two are going to take turns switching between working with me and Trowa so you can learn how things work from all sides. James, you'll start with Trowa, and Arthur you'll be with me. You'll both switch every four hours."

"What about you?" Harry asked. "You're going to need a break at some point to rest and get some lunch. You can't go thirteen hours without some sort of break."

Duo grinned, feeling all warm and fuzzy at Harry's concern. "Actually, I can, but Trowa will relieve me later in the day when things start to slow down."

"The doors will be opening early today so we should take our positions now. Today is going to be a long day, so pace yourselves."

Ron and Harry nodded and the group split up. After one last security check, the doors were opened and the public began flocking into the museum in droves. The first part of the day went smoothly but got progressively busier as the morning faded into afternoon. At twelve Harry braved he crowds until he found Ron, who gratefully made his way to the security room and away from all the people.

Time went by fairly quick with so many people around to watch. Harry and Duo would start at opposite ends of the main building and meet briefly in the middle just long enough to nod at each other that everything was fine. Around two in the afternoon when the museum had just reached its busiest time of day, Harry paused. He looked around, his senses alerting him to something strange. His eyes fell in a young man, who looked to be in this early thirties, with black hair and bright blue eyes. He was wearing a long trench coat with pleated pants and a white button up shirt. He didn't look particularly out of the ordinary, just outdated. His outfit made Harry think of Duo's favorite movies with gangsters from fifty years ago.

Harry paused and focused on the man, reaching out with his magic. He was surprised when he sensed power. The man was a wizard. That itself wasn't suspicious, after all, thousands of people were passing through the museum today, there was bound to be at least one magical person in the lot. It was the way the man walked with his chin held high and an air of confidence that was closer to arrogance. Harry decided to follow him from a distance.

As expected, the man went straight for the Queen's necklace. He stopped before the display and smirked as he looked around. Harry reached up and touched the radio hidden in his ear.

"Got someone," he said. "Right in front of the display, dark hair wearing a trench coat."

"Acknowledged," Duo's voice answered. "Keep eyes on him, I'm making my way to you now."

"Trowa can you see him on the cameras?"

There was brief pause before Trowa answered. "I have visual conformation." Trowa's voice was slightly surprised when he spoke next. "That is the same jewel thief who escaped capture before."

Harry grumbled to himself. His theory about the jewel thief being a wizard had been right. Duo's voice came over the radio.

"Keep eyes on him, James. Trowa, tell that horrible woman to shut it down."

Harry moved forward in the crowd, getting closer to the man. A moment later alarms sounded all around them and a steal case sprang from the pedestal the Queen's necklace rested on, completely covering the item. The unknown wizard jumped back in surprise before smiling. He whipped out his wand and cast a blasting charm at the steel cage, sending it flying. The crowd screamed and began to shove and push each other, trying to get out of the now sealed room.

"Stop!" Harry yelled, trying to get closer but prevented by the panicked people.

The wizard looked around and spotted him. He smirked before grabbing the necklace and calmly raising his wand. Before he could apparate away, Harry drew his own and cast a quick anti-apparition ward around them. The wizard looked shocked before glaring over his shoulder at Harry. Without missing another step, the man ran into the crowds towards the exit, Harry following.

"Duo, he's got the necklace and is trying to get out the east exit!" Harry yelled through the radio.

"Got it! I'm en route."

The wizard reached the sealed doors and waved his wand, opening it without a problem. Harry kicked himself for not thinking to set up some magical defenses on the museum. But this was the muggle world so he wasn't thinking like a magical guard.

As soon the door opened the crowd dove for freedom. The wizard tossed his trench coat away, making it harder to keep track of him in the crowd. Harry forced his way past the people, reaching out with his magical senses when he lost sight of the thief. They made their way upstairs, away from the crowds. Just as they rounded the top of the stairs, Duo appeared before the wizard, his gun drawn and aimed right at his head.

"Do not move!" he ordered. The wizard skid to a stop. "I am a class one Preventer Agent and you are under arrest. Continue to resist and I will shoot you."

"Oh you muggles and your toys," the wizard said with an Irish accent. "Always waving it around like it means something."

"Take another step and I'll show you what this toy can do."

The man smiled and pointed his wand at Duo. "Sorry friend, but I ain't got time for this. Please be so kind as to move." He waved his wand and Duo was sent hurtling to the side into the wall. The wizard ran past him just as Harry appeared. He ran to Duo's side but the former pilot was already scrambling to his feet.

"How the hell did he do that?" Duo demanded. Without waiting for an answer Duo charged after the thief, Harry right on his tail. In the back of his mind Harry really hoped Ron was able to slip away and call the Ministry for some back up. This guy very obviously didn't care about hiding his magic.

They chased the jewel thief over one of the catwalks connecting the buildings. Once he was on the far side he stopped and turned, pointing his wand.

"Watch yourself, boys!" he yelled and flicked his wrist. An explosion rang around them, sending Harry flying forward. Duo threw himself onto the ground and covered his head. It took a moment for his ears to stop ringing and when they did, he sat up. The catwalk was completely destroyed in the center with him near the edge and James just barely hanging onto the other side.

"James!" Duo yelled.

The teen managed to grab a piece of debris and haul himself up to safety. He crawled away from the edge before standing and looking around. The wizard had managed to get to the ground and was making a mad dash for the gates surrounding the building. Harry's anti-apparition ward didn't extend very far so once he reached the gates, he would be home free.

"Don't worry, I'll get him!" Harry yelled to Duo.

He ran off downstairs, ignoring Duo's shouts behind him. Harry spotted the thief just as he reached the gates of the buildings. The moment he touched them, the wizard would be free to apparate. Just as the man was about to vanish, Harry jumped forward and grabbed his arm, getting caught up in the magic.

After a brief trip, Harry felt himself fall flat on the ground with a thump. He was disorientated for a moment before sitting up and looking around. The jewel thief was standing a few feet away, both his and Harry's wand in his hand. He was scowling deeply at the teen, nursing a cut on his arm.

"What in the name of God's green Earth were you thinking, boy?" he demanded, his voice thick with an Irish accent. "Grabbing someone like that while apparating! Why, you're lucky I didn't splinch you!" He held out his arm. "Did it to me-self instead!" He shook his head in annoyance.

"Why didn't you?" Harry asked. "Why did you try so hard to make sure I was alright? You're a thief!"

The man rolled his eyes. "Oh heavens above, this boy is supposed to be our Savior?" He looked back at Harry. "You think I'm going to let anything bad happen to the man who saved our world? I'm a muggle born, you know. It meant a lot, you stopping that poor excuse of a man."

"You're welcome," Harry muttered and stood. "Thank you for not splinching me but that doesn't change anything. I'm working with the Preventers and you're under arrest."

The man shook his head. "Oh no, sorry boy, but that doesn't work for me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Queen's necklace. "Here." He tossed the item to Harry who caught it, confused.

"You're just giving it back?"

"I have no use for it. It's not magical or enchanted so as far as I'm concerned it's just a pretty trinket."

"Then why steal it?" Harry exclaimed.

"I wasn't hired to steal it but make a scene. A nice flashy scene, the bigger the better, my client told me."

"A scene?" Harry repeated. "You mean... all the magic you did? Someone hired you to use magic to steal a jewel no one cares about? Why?"

The thief shook his head and shrugged. "Don't know, boy, and don't particularly care. Just know that I got paid a lot of money to do it and now I'm going to find a nice sunny place to retire and maybe find me-self a nice bonnie lass to pass the time with."

"Who hired you?"

The man smiled, his eyes sparkling. "Now now, my Savior, I'm not going to tell you that. I don't mind sharing this much as you're such a wonderful person and all, but I've never betrayed the identity of my client before and I won't be startin' now." He dropped Harry's wand to the ground and winked. "Good luck, Lord Savior, I do hope we don't meet again."

The thief vanished before Harry could stop him and this time he masked his trail so Harry couldn't follow. With a sigh, Harry retrieved his wand and looked around. He was in an alley on the far side of the city. He looked down at his bracelet and realized Ron was probably surrounded by people right now and wouldn't be able to answer. So instead Harry touched the radio still in his ear and walked towards the street.

"Duo? Can you hear me?"

Duo's voice answered instantly, but the signal was weak and full of static because of the distance.

"James? Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Er..." Harry spotted a street sign and read it off to Duo.

"What? How the fuck did you get to the other side of the city?"

"Um..." Harry wasn't sure what to say.

"It was the disappearing trick," Duo said. "It _is_ a form of teleportation, like we thought. We have you both vanishing on camera."

Harry closed his eyes and sighed. He had no idea how to talk his way out of this one. Not to mention how the Ministry was going to cover it up when the muggles had video proof.

"Quatre's place is a few blocks from where you are. Go straight there and wait, we're on our way now."

"Okay," Harry answered. He switched off the radio and looked down at his wrist. Hermione's stone was glowing yellow and he held it up to his mouth as he walked.

"Are you okay?" Hermione demanded. "I just saw Wufei and Heero running out of headquarters and Sally said something terrible has happened at the museum."

"I'm fine. The same jewel thief from before tried to steal the Queen's necklace. I managed to grab him when he apparated and the guy splinched himself but was _real_ careful not to let the Savior get hurt."

"Don't sound annoyed!" Hermione snapped. "You're extremely lucky! You could have been seriously hurt!"

"What's going on?" Harry asked, changing the topic.

"Ron managed to send a message to Kingsley. The Ministry is trying to get their people in to get the mess under control but it is a lot of trouble. Trowa and Duo have got the entire museum locked down. They're not letting anyone in or out."

Harry groaned. "Great. Well Ron's there, so hopefully he can do some damage control. I need you to tell Kingsley that the thief said he wasn't hired to steal the jewel. He was hired specifically to use magic in front of muggles."

"What?" Hermione exclaimed. "But why? And by who?"

"I don't know. He wouldn't say and he escaped before I could question him further."

"Okay, I'll tell Kingsley. Where are you now?"

"Walking to Quatre's house. Duo told me to go there and wait."

"The second you can get away from them, come see me. I want to check to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine but I'll still come see you," Harry promised. Harry paused and looked up, spotting a large mansion at the end of the road he was walking on. "I've got to go, Hermione. I'm here."

"All right. Be careful and be safe. And watch what you say!"

"I know, I will."

Quatre was waiting at the end of his long driveway when Harry jogged up to the main gate. The blonde didn't say a word as he ushered the teen inside and shut the gates, turning on the security system. Harry glanced up at the mansion which was surrounded by large trees and bushes. The lawn was perfectly manicured and the flowers tended lovingly. Harry noticed gardening tools lying around everywhere but didn't see any workers.

"I've sent my staff home," Quatre explained shortly, grabbing Harry's arm and pulling him inside the mansion quickly. As soon as they were inside he shut the door and locked it. "Are you alright?"

Quatre ushered Harry into a large sitting room and practically shoved him onto the couch. He sat down next to the boy and reached under the coffee table, pulling out a rather large first aid kit.

"I'm fine," Harry began but the blonde completely ignored him. He pulled out a flashlight and lifted Harry's chin, flashing it into his eyes. Harry made a sound of complaint at the bright light and jerked back. "Stop! Quatre, I said I'm fine."

"You most certainly are not," he argued. "You were just transported in some manner we know nothing about. We have no idea if there are side effects or long term consequences to this or if there is some sort of lasting damage. Not to mention you were right next to an explosion! I need to check you for a concussion."

"I don't have a concussion..." Harry stopped trying to argue and let Quatre give him a quick once over. Harry had some cuts and scrapes, and a rather large bruise on his elbow, but otherwise was fine. Quatre slapped a large band aid on his cheek to cover a cut that must have happened during the explosion. Harry scowled and picked at it unhappily.

"What were thinking?" Quatre demanded when he was done.

"What?"

"Running after a criminal alone like that! You could have been seriously hurt!"

"Well I wasn't planning on getting... teleported somewhere!"

"That's not what I'm referring to!"

They stopped talking abruptly as the sound of knocking reached them.

"That is probably Trowa and Duo," Quatre said. Harry made to stand and answer the door but the blonde stopped him. "If that's them, they know how to get in without help."

Harry sat back down and waited. Quatre's eyes never left the front door and Harry noticed his hand hovering over his waist, ready to draw his concealed weapon just in case the people coming in weren't their friends. The front door opened slowly and a hand appeared before the rest of Duo's body slid inside, followed closely by Trowa. Quatre relaxed and stood, hurrying over to Trowa.

Duo crossed the room to Harry in a few steps and, without warning, smacked him soundly on the head. Harry yelled and rubbed the sore spot on his head, glaring.

"What was that—"

"Are you _stupid_ or something?" Duo demanded. "What were you thinking? _You are a trainee_! That means you are still learning. You don't ever go running off after an enemy of unknown skill and strength no matter what the reason."

"I handled myself just fine!" Harry defended.

"That's not the point! There were probably five different options open to you that would have been smarter than running off alone and risking yourself. The most obvious being waiting for back up."

"There wasn't time—"

"You could have chased without engaging, you could have shot him in the leg and disabled him! I've been teaching you how to shoot for months now and your dumb-ass didn't even draw your gun once!"

Harry blinked and looked up at Duo. His partner was starting to turn red in the face and Harry realized Duo was really mad at him. This wasn't just him being angry because he had been worried but he was honestly upset that Harry hadn't used his head before jumping into a dangerous situation.

"I could handle it," Harry tried.

"No, you _thought_ you could handle it. Thinking and knowing are two really different things. You got fucking lucky, kid, and that's it. You didn't use your skills or training to get out of trouble, you just got lucky."

Harry had no response to Duo's words. He wanted to defend himself. He wanted to say that he was the most powerful wizard of the age and he could fight his way out of almost anything. But Duo didn't know anything about Harry's magic and even if he did, his points were still valid. Harry hadn't known what he was getting into when he grabbed that jewel thief. He had gotten lucky that the guy was fan of the Savior.

Duo sighed and took a deep breath when James looked down at his hands with a defeated face. He hadn't meant to be so hard on the kid, he had just been worried. Watching James run off alone and then seeing him vanish with an unknown enemy. Those six minutes that had passed before James contacted them on the radio had been some of the longest in Duo's life.

Duo plopped himself down on the couch, letting his tense body relax for the first time all day. He glanced over at James. "So what did happen after you guys vanished?"

Harry blinked and looked up. "Oh, he just kinda dropped me and disappeared again." Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the Queen's necklace. "He dropped this too."

"Nice," Duo muttered, taking the jewelry. "Well at least we won't get in trouble for losing priceless objects."

"So what now?" Harry asked, glancing around at three.

"We take this back to the museum and make an entry into the Weirdo File."

"What?"

"The same jewel thief that escaped Trowa appeared again and used the same technique to get away," Quatre explained. "That is not a coincidence. Our suspicion is correct, there is a new type of technology out there that criminals are using to elude capture. You've experienced it first hand, James."

"What was it like?" Duo asked. "Did it hurt? Do you remember anything?"

Harry wasn't sure what to say. He was only just starting to grasp how much the others knew or suspected about his world. They may not have realized the things they saw were magic but thinking there was a group of people out there with new technology was dangerous. If they started looking for the new "tech" it could possibly lead them right to wizards.

"It was like.. being shoved through a straw," Harry answered uncertainly. "It didn't hurt but it was really uncomfortable and ended pretty quick."

"Hmm... we'll have to get you in for some scans," Quatre mused. Trowa nodded in agreement.

"Sc-scans?"

"You were exposed to an unknown technology," Quatre explained. "We need to make sure there's no lasting affects or harmful substances in your body." He could clearly sense Harry's unease. "Don't worry, Sally will perform the tests herself and you won't be alone. I'm sure everything's fine, we just want to be safe."

"Er... right..."

Quatre took the necklace from Duo. "I'll get this back to the museum, you two take him to Sally right away. The sooner we get him checked out the better." Quatre gestured Trowa to follow him to the door and leaned in close to whisper so James wouldn't hear. "He's very nervous and upset so make sure to reassure him that everything's okay. And tell Duo to apologize for yelling at him. It really upset James and he was pretty harsh."

Trowa nodded. "Duo was frightened. They are dating."

Quatre leaned back and blinked. He glanced over to the two who were sitting on the couch. Duo had his arm on the couch behind James and was looking at him with soft eyes. James glanced up and smiled shyly.

"How did I miss that?" Quatre asked, sounding appalled at himself.

Trowa smiled lightly at his lover and kissed him on the cheek. "Be safe."

"You as well."

*!*!*

Sally glared at the blurry images in front of her. She had finished the scans of James Porter but the machine hadn't given her a good picture. Everything came out blurry with shadowy spots everywhere. And since Sally was positive the machine was working correctly and Porter didn't have cancer in ninety-five percent of his body, she was at a loss as to explain the poor images. Porter had remained fairly still during the entire scan and the small amount of fidgeting he had done wouldn't have produced this amount of distortion.

There was knock on the door and Sally called for the person to enter. Trowa and Duo did, both looking unhappy. She gestured at the chairs in front of her desk and showed them both the images.

"Jean's with him now," she explained, skipping any small talk. "She's giving him a complete physical. These are his scans and, as you can see, they're less than helpful."

"What are they supposed to look like?" Duo asked.

"They're supposed to be a lot clearer, for one thing," Sally explained. "I can't tell you if anything's wrong because the pictures are so distorted. I think I'm going to call this the Barton Syndrome."

Trowa looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"The last time I tried to do a CAT scan on you, the images were blurry and hard to read. The same thing is happening here, though more severely. Who knows? Maybe it runs in the family. I think I'll ask Heero to get his hands on James's parents medical files. I need to know if this distortion is normal for him or if it was caused by the technology he was exposed to."

"So is he okay?" Duo asked.

"As far as I can tell, he's fine. He says he feels fine, no aches or pains. I've drawn his blood and will do a full work up but I don't believe there are any side effects. To be on the safe side I'm recommending he takes a few days off work and comes and sees me again in a week to get looked over once more." Sally stood and gestured the men out ahead of her. "Jean should be done with his physical by now. They're in exam room one."

When the three entered the room, Harry was in the process of hungrily devouring a sandwich. Jean was standing next to him, a hand resting on his shoulder with her stethoscope hanging around her neck. She glanced up as the door opened and squeezed Harry's shoulder briefly before handing her notes to Sally.

"Everything came back normal," she reported. "He's in perfect health and shape."

Duo was frowning lightly at the girl. He knew part of a good bedside manner was reassuring the patient but he was surprised James had let her touch him like that. He wasn't the most touchy guy but he seemed perfectly fine with Jean resting her hand on his shoulder.

"So can I go now?" Harry asked, after swallowing a bite of food.

"Yes," Sally said and Harry immediately jumped from the exam table. "But I'm putting you on temporary medical leave."

"What?" Harry exclaimed. "You just said I was fine!"

"It's a precaution," Sally explained. "You're scans were inconclusive. I'm ordering you to take a week off and report back to me then. If you're still fine, I'll lift the suspension."

Harry gaped at her until Hermione nudged him. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

Harry took an angry bite of his sandwich and glared at all of them. "Fine," he grumbled.

After finishing his sandwich, Harry put his shirt back on and left the medical room with Duo and Trowa. He was still annoyed that he had been ordered to take an entire week off but didn't argue any further. Instead he looked at the other two curiously.

"So what's going on at the museum? Jean said Heero and Wufei are there?"

"They took over for us," Duo confirmed. "I suppose we shouldn't have left Arthur there on his own to deal with them. Poor kid is probably in over his head."

"I was planning on returning now," Trowa spoke as they reached the elevator. "Wufei checked in and informed me that everything was back under control but I would still like to go and make sure." He glanced over at Duo who shrugged.

"I've had enough of that place for awhile. We'll go file our reports and call it a day. A long freaking day."

Trowa nodded and turned to Harry. "Please get some rest. Do not over extend yourself."

"I feel fine," Harry insisted.

The elevator arrived and Trowa stepped on. He nodded farewell as the doors shut and Harry hit the other button to summon another ride. It arrived quickly and the two stepped on.

"Sorry for yelling at ya earlier," Duo muttered as Harry pressed the button for their floor.

"It's okay. You weren't wrong, I didn't think things through." Harry glanced at his partner. "But I wasn't wrong either. I could handle it."

Duo snorted. "If you say so, kid."

They stepped off the elevator and made their way into Duo's office. Harry sat down while Duo plopped into his chair and logged on.

"Are we really doing paperwork right now?"

"Heero will be on our asses if we don't do it right away." He pressed a few keys. "Okay, so tell me exactly what happened, start from the moment the guy blew up the crosswalk and we split."

Harry nodded. "I followed him down the stairs and chased him across the east yard. I yelled for him to stop but he ignored me. Just as he reached the gates, I managed to grab his arm, intending to disable him, but then he vanished and took me with him."

"Did you hear anything? Did he have a device that he activated?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I just grabbed his arm and the next thing I knew we were both in some back alley. I was disorientated and before I could get my barrings, the thief had vanished again without a word. After that I radioed you."

"Describe the teleportation."

Harry didn't want to describe apparating again. But he knew if he didn't answer Duo would get suspicious. The only thing Harry could hope was that the Ministry was already working to cover up the whole ordeal and he could tell them later about describing apparating to the muggles.

"It was like being forced through a small tube. It didn't hurt but was uncomfortable and only lasted a few seconds."

"Did you hear anything? See anything? Like the world flashing by?"

"No, I had my eyes shut and didn't hear anything."

"Okay." Duo finished typing. "Heero's probably going to make you repeat all of this to him when he gets back. We've been trying to get a hold of this tech for a while now."

"You implied that before," Harry commented, trying to sound natural. "You said you had a theory about this?"

Duo glanced at him over his computer before looking back at the screen. "It's kinda classified."

Harry made a sound of complaint and Duo smiled lightly.

"But since you're now officially in the file, I guess I can give you the highlights."

Harry sat up, trying not to look too eager.

"The Strange or Unsolved Occurrence File or Weirdo File for short –nicknamed by yours truly– is a folder where we keep track of all the missions we go on that don't make sense. Heero started it a couple months ago. He was on a solo mission and saw some guy use a jet of green light to kill a woman. But when the docs looked the lady over they swore up and down that she died of natural causes. Because of this, the local police refused to investigate and everyone was pretty dismissive towards Heero's story of the woman being murdered."

Harry listened with rapt attention. It sounded like the Killing Curse and the Ministry had probably come in to charm everyone's memories into accepting the doctor's story without question. Though that left the question as to why they didn't try and charm Heero's memories as well.

"After that we all started noticing strange things happening on missions. Nothing big, but little things. People appearing or disappearing or using weapons we've never seen before. Reports of strange animals, like the mission we did in the desert, or people that look half-human and half bird."

Harry frowned. _Half-bird? _he thought to himself. _What could that be?_

"As the months went by, the five of us kept adding new things to the folder and we started seeing a pattern. All the strange people could do the teleporting thing, proving it wasn't a fluke or trick. Most of them could also use colored lights as weapons. It lead us to the conclusion that these criminals are all somehow connected. Whether they all work together or are just buying the new tech from the same supplier, we don't know. But now that we have video proof of what we've suspected, we can start to do something about it."

"Like what?" Harry asked.

Duo shook his head. "Heero will probably set up a meeting and we'll figure that out."

"I want to be a part of it," Harry blurted out. "I want to help!"

Duo smirked. "Obviously, kid. It'll be Heero's decision in the end but I don't see why it would be a problem."

Harry nodded. Finally, finally, this mission was about to come to an end.

**A/N: I really enjoyed the scene where Duo yelled at Harry for being reckless. No one has ever said something like that to Harry before. They either scold him for not following the rules or praise him for his bravery but they've never called him an idiot for not trying to find a different method to things. Also, Quatre's line about being appalled because he didn't notice Duo and Harry dating is super cute.**

**There are so many notes I want to say about this chapter! The big reveal of magic to the muggles and then Harry discovering the depths of how much the Preventers know. And he's finally trusted enough to be let in on the secret. What I think of as "Part Two" of the story is coming to an end and we'll enter into "Part Three."**

**So I need some help from readers! I have created this bad guy but he needs a name. He kinda has a name but I don't like it. So give me ideas for a bad guy named. I want it to be royal sounding because he's an important bad guy. But to have your suggestion considered, you must also include in your review at least one comment about that chapter or story as a whole. If you don't include a comment of some sort, your suggestions will be invalid! So please everyone, help me name my villain!**

**Thank you! Have a wonderful day!**

**P.S. Updates are going to slow down, sorry!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: The reviews for the last chapter were simply outstanding! All of you, thank you so much. I believe I responded to everyone who logged in (If I missed someone, I'm sorry) and for those that always review as guests, you should totally log in so I can respond to you!**

**So I know everyone really wants to see Harry and Trowa getting to know each other, but this chapter is about advancing the other plot happening in the story. I think you'll like it and will forgive me for not having any Harry and Trowa moments in this.**

**Thank you for everyone who suggested names. A couple people suggested the name Christoph and I really like it so that's what got picked. Thank you!**

**Enjoy.**

**(I have no idea if I did corrections on this.)**

**Chapter Fourteen**

It was around midnight when Harry apparated directly into Hermione's apartment. The girl was there, making tea in the kitchen. She smiled at Harry and pressed a finger to her lips before pointing to the couch. Ron was sound asleep, snoring lightly with his head titled back over the armrest. He was still in the same clothes from the museum. Harry stepped forward and carefully lifted his head, placing a pillow under his neck to be more comfortable.

"He fell asleep almost as soon as he got here," Hermione explained quietly. She handed a cup of tea to Harry who followed her back into the small kitchen.

"Did he say anything?"

"Not really. He said the Ministry workers finally managed to get inside but not much else. I wanted to let him sleep before pestering him with questions."

"Have you talked to Kingsley?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not yet. He's very busy right now."

A grunt from behind them drew their attention and Ron sat up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Hermione picked up the third cup of tea and walked over to him.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked, sitting next to him.

Ron took a big gulp of tea before answering. "Exhausted. Today was one of the worst days of my life."

"That sounds unlikely," Harry said. He sat across from his friends in the chair.

Ron just shook his head and leaned back. "Yuy is insane. The second he got there everyone was a suspect. He wouldn't let anyone leave until he'd run a full background check on them. And Chang! He walked around interrogating everyone, even people who weren't in the room when everything happened! Had half the civilians in tears by the time he was done."

Harry smiled. "That sounds like them."

"I just shut my mouth and stayed out of their way." Ron shook his head and finished his tea. "It took a long time to get the Unspeakables in there. Though Yuy not letting anyone leave actually ended up helping a lot because they didn't have to chase anyone down."

"So they did it?" Harry asked. "They got the whole mess cleared up?"

Ron shook his head. "Not really. They managed to charm everyone's memories who's not in charge. They took care of all of the civilians and guards, but no one could get near Yuy and Chang. The last I knew, they both had taken all the video recordings and made duplicates. Kingsley wants me to find the videos and destroy them but I'm not sure how I'm going to do it."

"You'll never be able to," Harry said. "Not without having complete access to Heero's work. But I think I've got a way around that."

Harry explained everything Duo had said about the Weirdo File and what was inside. "So basically, the five are the only ones who can access the files. Every so often they give someone extremely limited access to add a file, like they did with Iien, but they're in charge of it."

"Well that makes our job a lot easier," Hermione mused. "We thought it was a lot of different agents but it's really just Heero and the others. If we charm them to accept the stories in place, then the problem goes away. No one else is suspicious that something is wrong."

Harry nodded. "First thing tomorrow I'm going back to the Ministry to tell Kingsley everything and find out how he wants us to proceed. He might want us to stay longer until we find out more about this person who's paying wizards to use their magic openly."

The other two nodded in agreement and Harry stood. "I'll leave you two alone for the night, you look wiped out. I'll contact you tomorrow and let you know what Kingsley said."

"Goodnight Harry." Hermione stood and gave him a quick hug. "Be safe."

"Night mate," Ron grumbled before lying down and closing his eyes.

*!*!*!*

The next morning Heero appeared at Harry's door and, as Duo said, interrogated him for at least thirty minutes about what happened. After Harry had repeated himself countless times, Heero finally accepted his story. He then proceed to lecture him in a cold monotone about the brashness of his actions when chasing an unknown enemy and informed Harry he would be taking extra training courses when he returned to work.

Harry gaped at him.

After Heero left (and Iien stopped laughing because Harry was being forced to take "remedial training") Harry grabbed his jacket and apparated to the Ministry of Magic. The place was bustling more than usual for a Sunday and Harry was careful to brush his bangs over his scar and not make eye contact with anyone. He rode the lift straight to the top floor and was relieved when he stepped out and it was nearly empty. Being Sunday, Harry figured most of the workers had the day off.

At the end of the hall was Kingsley's office. Sitting outside was a desk with a young woman working furiously. Adele Lade was a short, skinny woman with cut brown hair and pale blue eyes. Her nails were always perfectly manicured and she applied a heavy amount of make up everyday. Harry personally thought she wore too much but he knew Adele was self-conscious about her large nose and square face and wearing pounds of makeup helped boost her confidence. She had been Kingsley's personal assistant for two years now and Harry genuinely liked her.

"Good morning, Adele," Harry greeted.

The woman nearly jumped from her seat. She stared at Harry a moment, completely dumbfounded, before shooting to her feet.

"Sa-Savior!"

Harry frowned at her annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Harry," she amended. "I'm just shocked to see you here." She glanced around. "I wasn't aware your mission had come to an end."

"It's not," Harry answered. "I've made some progress and need to talk to Kingsley about how to proceed."

"Oh..." the secretary looked over her shoulder to the locked doors. "He's not in right now..."

"That's okay, I can wait. I can stay most of the day. Do you mind if I wait in his office?"

She wrung her hands together and Harry was confused as to why she was so nervous. Adele was usually relaxed around him, having (mostly) gotten over Harry's celebrity status.

"Um that might not work. He's with the Veela council now and there's no telling when they'll finish."

Harry shrugged. "They'll take a break at some point, right? I don't mind waiting, really."

Adele still looked nervous and glanced over her shoulder at the door again. "Okay, but wait in your office. I'll inform him that you're here."

Harry smiled. "My office? I still have one? I thought for sure it would have been reassigned by now. I know that creepy guy, Linemen, from accounting, has had his eye on it since before it was assigned to me. I would have thought he just moved in and took it."

Adele finally cracked a smile and Harry felt proud. He wasn't sure what was wrong with the young woman. Normally the brunette was very kind and went out her way to help Harry with whatever he needed. She must be a under a lot of stress because of work.

"So why's Kingsley's meeting with the Veela?" Harry asked. "I've kinda been out of the loop for the last few months."

She nodded. "Yes, the Minister told me all about your mission. You don't need to worry about the Veela, he's handling it. Now quickly, back to your office before someone sees you." She started to shoo him down the hall and Harry looked over his shoulder in confusion.

"Sees me?"

At that moment that doors to the Minister's office opened. Kingsley, dressed in formal purple and gold flowing robes, held them open politely for a group of people Harry had never seen before but was certain were Veela. There were two men and two women. The women were identical with pure silver hair and eyes. Their skin was smooth and pale and they both were the same height as Harry. They wore flowing light blue robes and walked with their heads held high and serious looks on their faces.

Next to them was a slightly taller man with blonde hair. It was kept long and tied into a loose ponytail at the base of his neck. A well groomed goatee covered his pointed chin. His eyes were a strange red that reminded Harry of Heero for a moment because were cold and calculating.

The last man was the leader of the group. He was the tallest of the four and strikingly beautiful. He had long flowing hair that Harry thought was silver but, when the light hit it just right, it was more pale blue. His eyes matched his hair perfectly, switching between silver and blue depending on the lighting. He wore formal ropes tailored to fit him like a glove and decorated in ornate jewels. He walked with grace and confidence.

For a moment, Harry lost his head and couldn't help but stare at the captivatingly beautiful people before them. They truly lived up to the Veela reputation for beauty and elegance. Harry was snapped out of his daze by Adele, who once again tried to push him.

"Will you please stop that?" Harry grumbled at the woman, thoroughly annoyed.

"Harry!" Kingsley exclaimed. Harry smiled at his friend and was confused when he realized Kingsley looked slightly panicked to see him. The look was gone quickly and the Minister walked over to him with a smile. "My young friend, I was not expecting you."

"I got some time off and wanted to come see you," Harry explained. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your meeting."

"The meeting has not yet started," Kingsley explained. "I was greeting the Veela council privately before we joined the others in the meeting hall." Kingsley turned to the four. "My Lords, Ladies, may I present to you Harry James Potter, Lord Savior, The Chosen One, The-Boy-Who-Lived, Master of the House of Black, and High Lord of the Ancient Potter name."

Harry barely restrained from rolling his eyes. He often forgot how many titles he held until formal situations such as these reminded him what a mouthful they were all were. He still remembered the first time Hermione had told him all the titles he held after the war and the way he and Ron had gaped at her in disbelief.

"Harry, may I present the Veela Council. The Lady Alexia of Vitrol, Mistress of Potions. The Lady Ariane of Vitrol, Mistress of Spell Casting. The Lord Nicolas of Vitrol, Master Champion of Dueling and current Head of Foreign Affairs for Vitrol." Kingsley faced the Veela with the silver-blue hair. "And this is the High Lord Christoph Van Vitrol of the Ancient Veela City Vitrol; Master of Magic and current ruler of the Veela Nation.

Harry, a little overwhelmed by the titles and grandness of the people around him, smiled and bowed perfectly. "It is an honor to meet such esteemed Veela. Welcome and may your stay with us be pleasant and fruitful."

Harry straightened and noticed Kingsley nodded in approval. In his head, Harry did a little happy dance. He had practice for hours with various diplomats before he was able to perform the perfect bow and recite the proper greetings flawlessly. Formal occasions weren't something Harry enjoyed. He would privately admit that being taught how to act helped calm his nerves when he was forced to participate in such things.

The Veela dipped their heads respectfully. "It is an honor to finally meet you, Lord Savior. Minister Kingsley has informed us that you are away on a mission of most importance and that is why you have not been a part of these talks."

Harry had to give himself a mental shake after Lord Christoph finished speaking. His voice was soothing, like a clam river, and captivating.

"I apologize for the poor timing," Kingsley jumped in. "Please, let me once again assure you, that Mr. Potter's mission is truly pressing and that is why he is away."

"The Minister's right," Harry added. "I've only come now to deliver a progress report and then I must return before I'm missed."

"That is a shame," Lady Alexia said. Her voice was soft like honey and had a quality to it that put Harry at ease. "We were hoping a new set of eyes and ears could help move these talks along. We are stuck at a standstill."

"If there is anyway for you to join us, it would be beneficial for both parties, I believe," Lady Ariane said. Her voice was soft like her sister's but had more of a rough edge to it. Harry got the feeling this woman was used to giving orders and having them followed.

"Yes, we insist that you join us," Lord Nicolas added. His voice was naturally loud and Harry could tell he was making a conscious effort to speak quieter. "We have been ignoring certain items on the agenda for weeks and now would be the perfect opportunity to bring them up."

Harry noticed Kingsley did not look pleased with the situation. Harry himself was feeling uncomfortable too. He was terrible with politics and tried to stay out of them as much as possible. Aside from some ceremonial things after the war ended, he had managed to do just that. Sitting in important talks with the Veelas that he knew nothing about was not a tempting prospect.

"Thank you for kind invitation, my Lords, Ladies, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be a lot of help. I haven't been keeping up with the topics you've discussed and wouldn't be able to offer much input."

"Your presences alone will be enough," Lord Christoph said. He stepped forward and raised his hand. Instantly Harry felt himself surrounded by warm magic. His clothes changed shape until he was wearing formal robes that were emerald green with white trim. Harry frowned down at himself.

"Next time my Lord, please ask my permission before changing my clothing," Harry grumbled. He had liked the shirt he'd been wearing. Iien had given it to him while they were training together. Hopefully Harry would be able to undo Christoph's spell when he got home.

"My apologies. I had merely thought you would be more comfortable in formal attire as the rest of us are." He glanced to Kingsley. "I believe, my friend, we are now officially late. Shall we go?"

Without another word the Veelas swept past them. Nicolas sent a wink at Adele, who looked as though she were about to faint. Harry looked at Kingsley, trying hard not to fidget with his new robes. He always hated wearing the formal costume. He felt like he was in a dress.

"What are you doing here?" Kingsley asked quickly, speaking quietly.

"I came to report in," Harry explained. "I found out a lot of stuff after the museum yesterday."

"Oh please don't remind me," Kingsley groaned. "I'm still trying to clean up that mess. Whatever you have to tell me is going to have to wait. There's no way for you to miss the meeting now. It would be a great insult to the Veela and we're already having too much trouble with them."

"I can just sit there, right? I don't actually have to contribute?"

"I would prefer it that way. And Harry, remember that no matter what, I am on your side. Politics is a dangerous game and these are powerful people. Keep your temper in check _no_ _matter_ _what._"

*!*!*!*

The introductions alone took nearly twenty minutes. There were eight council members representing the Ministry of Magic and eight people representing the Veela government. All sixteen people had a title of some sort and most had more than one. When the person was being introduced, they were told to stand. Harry had never felt so awkward, standing in front of some of the most powerful people in the world and trying hard not to fidget while some squeaky faced wizard scribe read his accomplishments out for the whole assembly. Everyone had stared the whole time and Harry was suddenly grateful that Lord Christoph had given him new clothes.

When the introductions were finally finished, the same wizard then read off the minutes from the last meeting. Harry tried to pay attention but his mind was still reeling from embarrassment and the sheer amount of greatness in the room around him. These people were war heroes, entrepreneurs, accomplished diplomats, and a whole slew of other things. The magic in the air was nearly tangible and Harry had to focus hard on suppressing his innate ability to sense magic as it was making him lightheaded.

After the minutes were read, talking began. Thankfully whenever someone stood to speak, they said their name only and didn't recite their titles.

"Louis the Duke of Trolvel has the floor!" the scribe wizard announced.

A Veela with short cut black hair and dark eyes stood. "I would like to bring to the table the matter of housing in my city. The Ministry promised to help us rebuild our homes destroyed by Death Eaters and yet, nearly two months later, we have not received any such aid. I ask now, what is the delay?"

Kingsley turned to his left where Percy was sitting. The redhead quickly shuffled through his notes before handing a sheet of paper to the Minister.

"Duke Louis, the aid we promised has been stalled," Kingsley explained. "They were expected to finish rebuilding in Exeter before now but a problem arose with the local muggles. They were forced to handle the situation and that has put them behind. They've assured me that they will be finished by the end of the week and then make their way to your city."

The Duke sniffed. "Per usual a wizard community takes precedence over the Veela."

"Well seeing as how these are wizards supplies..." A wizard a couple seats down from Harry muttered loudly under his breath. A warning look from Kingsley prevented the wizard from saying another word as the Duke sat back down with a nasty look.

Next a female Veela stood, her robes hugging every curve of her body. She flipped her hair and spoke with a French accent. "The Lady Isabella of Vitrol speaking. I wished to inquire if any progress had yet been made in retrieving the priceless pieces of art stolen by wizards during the war."

The witch directly to Harry's right stood. If Harry remembered her name Karina Janeway. "As I said in the last meeting, we are working diligently to locate the lost artwork but things are slow going. The Lady Isabella will just have to be more patient."

"I have been waiting for over two years for the return of my people's property! How patient need I be before I start to see results?"

Both Kingsley and Lord Christoph held up a hand, stopping the women before they had a chance to argue further. A wizard at the far end of the table stood.

"Mitchell Mathews, Head of the Auror Department. Lady Isabella, a group of my men has managed to track down certain artworks you stated to be stolen. They are currently on display in a muggle museum and we are working with the muggle authorities to retrieve them safely."

"Working with them?" Isabella demanded. "Why are you working with them? They are muggles! They have no idea the importance of history behind Veela art! You should charm their memories and be done with it!"

"Lady Isabella," Kingsley stood. "As I have stated before, we only charm the memories of muggles as a last resort. If we can retrieve the artwork in a peaceful way, we shall do it. We will enchant them _only_ as a very last resort."

The Lady Isabella huffed and sat down, letting her displeasure be known. Mathews and Janeway sat as well, both looking tired and frustrated.

Everyone took turns complaining after that and Harry eventually zoned out. He was never a fan of politics and this meeting just reinforced that. All the politicians did was point fingers and accuse each other of not working hard enough or getting enough done. When someone did try and come up with a compromise or solution, it was shot down for the most ridiculous reasons. Harry glanced at his watch and realized he had now wasted four hours of his life in this meeting.

"Perhaps it is time for a break," Kingsley suggested. He glanced over at Harry and smiled imperceptibly when the teen sat up eagerly. "We can continue this after a nice lunch."

Everyone mumbled their agreement and started to gather their notes when Lord Christoph stood. "One final matter before we break for lunch," he said. Everyone settled back down. "This topic was put on the table nearly at the beginning of these talks and has been tactfully ignored or pushed aside ever since."

Kingsley straightened in his seat, taking on a guarded look. Harry shifted in his chair, hoping this wouldn't take long. He planned on sneaking out as soon as everyone was dismissed for lunch. He still wanted to visit Teddy and the Weasleys before returning to the muggle world.

"It was the Veela's wish to reinstate the marriage contracts of old."

Harry's mind did a double-take. The wizards around him made sounds of displeasure and disbelief. The teen blinked and looked at the Lord Veela, who was staring right at him. Immediately, Harry was on guard.

"Lord Christoph, I was under the impression that those were nothing more than... a passing thought," Kingsley said.

"Come now, Minister, we both know that's not true. If you weren't worried about the issue you would not have gone to such great lengths to hide the Savior."

"Hide me?" Harry repeated. "Why would he need to hide me?"

"Harry please," Kingsley said quickly, placing a hand on his arm. Harry raised an eyebrow at him.

"Were you not informed?" Christoph shook his head. "We have waited for your presence to discuss this matter because it directly effects you and others your age."

"Excuse me, My Lord, but I don't understand."

"The Veela wish to bring back the marriage contracts between our people and wizards so as to blend our families together more. By doing this, we hope to prevent such atrocities as occurred during the war. If our families are more deeply connected, wizards will be less likely to attack us in the future."

Harry frowned at the man. "_Wizards_ did not attack you during the war. A group of extremists led by a mad man attacked _everyone_. You can't hold the entire Wizarding community responsible for the actions of a fraction its people."

"Even if the entire wizarding people did not participate in the war, they did not raise up to stop the Death Eaters. They sat idly by and watched the destruction of my people."

Harry felt his temper rise and stood, placing his hands on the table. Next to him, Kingsley stood slowly as well, placing a warning hand on his shoulder.

"We did _not_ just stand idly by," Harry growled.

Christoph held up a hand in a calming gesture. "Of course, I do not mean to imply that your efforts are not noted and appreciated, Savior, but the fact remains that only a small group of people rose up to fight and none of them defended us."

"We defended everyone," Harry snapped. "I didn't fight just for wizards, but for the good of the world and all those in it. And if you're so upset that we didn't come to your aide, you didn't come to ours either. I was at the final battle and I don't remember seeing any of you there."

"Harry!" Kingsley's reprimand came too late.

The Veelas, angered, were on their feet and shouting. The wizards, who had wanted to say exactly what Harry did for months now, shot up as well. Harsh words were exchanged on all sides but Harry ignored it. He was staring straight at Christoph, who, to his confusion, was smiling. The Lord didn't look upset by Harry's outburst at all, but more amused. He lifted a hand and snapped his fingers. Instantly all the Veelas became silent and the fighting stopped.

"You are as bold as they say," Christoph said. "These wizards have been dying to say that to me since the moment I came to the Ministry with a complaint. But none have had the courage to do so. You are truly a companion worthy of me."

Harry blinked. "What?"

"Lord Christoph that is enough!" Kingsley stated. "We are done for the day. This council will resume tomorrow when all have calmed down."

"Agreed, Minister. But before we adjourn for the day... tell me, Lord Savior, what do you think of the marriage contracts?"

Realizing he was already on thin ice with Kingsley for his outburst, Harry answered carefully. "I think it's a bad idea. Those things went out of style because young people revolted against having to marry someone they didn't love. I think if you try and bring them back now the same thing will happen again, on both sides." He looked the Veela in the eye and had to fight to not get lost in the strange gaze. "The war is over and we're trying to move forward, why would you want to hinder that by bringing back the past? Marriage contracts are a bad idea and will end badly for everyone. I believe you should drop this and focus on more important things."

Christoph smiled widely, showing off perfectly straight and pearly white teeth. "We shall see, Little Lord." He waved to his group. "I look forward to meeting you again." He bowed his head at Kingsley. "Minster."

The Veelas swept from the room without another word. Once the door shut behind them, the Wizards sighed. Mathews walked over to Harry and shook his head, a small grin on his face. He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"And that, Potter, is why you are an Auror, not a politician."

"I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble," Harry said.

"Nothing irreversible," Kingsley assured. "I knew I should have thought of an excuse when they insisted you come to this meeting. They were using you as an excuse to bring up those contracts. They know we won't let it happen so they're trying to force our hand."

"Damn fools," Mathews said. "Don't worry, Potter, we'll make sure to keep you and everyone else out their clutches."

"What do you mean?"

"The contracts! Pay attention! Your family is one of the first they brought up!"

Harry stared at the man with wide eyes. He whipped around to Kingsley who nodded. Harry shook his head. "Well now I wish I would have said more. There's no way I'm going to let myself or anyone else get... married off. We're people, not cattle. We can't be bought and traded."

"Well said," Mathews grinned.

"Come along, Harry. We don't need to talk about this anymore and you had a report to deliver, didn't you?"

Nodding, Harry followed Kingsley from the room, trying to ignore the bad feeling in his gut.

*!*!*!*

Harry glanced at his watch while Kingsley finished writing up a report. It was past five but if Harry could get out of there before six he could still go see Teddy. Andromeda set Teddy's bedtime for seven and didn't like Harry showing up close to that because it got the little boy riled up. After that he would go see the Weasleys. They didn't care what time he came over.

"This is excellent work, Harry," Kingsley said after a long silence. "So you believe every file they have relating to us was submitted by one of the five leaders?"

"Yeah, and a few probably have a couple random names as well. I know Trowa and Iien go on missions together occasionally so he's in there."

"This comes as good news. I was worried the task of cleaning up would be much more difficult with finding so many different muggles."

Harry nodded. He had had the same thought.

Kingsley sat back in his chair, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "The problem is this person who apparently is hiring wizards to expose magic. That one single thief did more damage than a group of rampaging giants simply because he chose to do it in front of cameras. We can charm all the memories we want but we do not have the resources or knowledge to destroy video evidence."

"Ron's not going to be able to hack Heero's stuff either. Heero and Duo are the best in the entire muggle world when it comes to computers. We don't stand a chance."

"So then our only option is charm their minds to make them less suspicious and more accepting."

Harry shook his head, rejecting that idea instantly. "You can't do that, it would change their entire personalities! Heero's a naturally suspicious guy! Duo too, for that matter."

"Then we must put a stop to this person hiring wizards. We have to find out who he is and why he's doing this."

"The three of us can return and lead a team," Harry offered but Kingsley immediately shook his head.

"No. I need you as far away from the Ministry as possible right now. Today proved that the Veela aren't above using you to get what they want. Not only that, but I don't know if I can spare any of our people. Our resources are stretched thin already with trying to recover from the war."

Harry spoke slowly, not sure how the idea he had just had was going to be taken. "So... why not let the muggles do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Duo told me that they were going to try and find the guy 'selling the new tech' to criminals. They don't realize it, but that means they're going to try and find the wizard who hired the thief. If I'm with them to monitor things, why don't we just let them do the leg work and when we find the guy, the Ministry can come in and arrest him."

"Do you really think muggles would be able to locate a wizard?"

Harry nodded. "If I'm there to help out, then yes. They have some amazing resources that we don't have access to. I'll be able to recognize signs of magic and do my best to hide it from them while letting them believe it's nothing more than a new technology. If we work together, we should be able to find this guy."

Kingsley sat back thoughtfully. "It's a risky operation. They would get closer to discovering magic, which is what we're trying to avoid." He hmm-ed thoughtfully. "I can not allow what happened at the museum to happen again, it's simply too dangerous. Very well, Harry, we'll give your idea a try."

Harry grinned. "You won't regret it."

"Try and do what you can to convince the muggles to let the other two help, you'll need all the backup you can get. And Harry, if they start to get too close or too suspicious, you'll have to step in. I realize you consider these muggles your friends, but your mission to protect our world must come first."

Harry nodded. "I understand."

"Very well, you're dismissed. Please do me a favor and just apparate directly from here so you don't accidentally run into any scheming Veela."

Harry smiled slightly before turning serious. "Those marriage contracts won't happen, right? You'll never let them pass?"

"Harry, you have my word of honor. I will never sign a single contract that forces a young person to go against their heart. Trust me and don't think on this matter again."

Feeling reassured, Harry stood. "I trust you, Kingsley. Thank you."

* * *

**A/N: I'm going to feel really bad when I make a liar out Kingsley. **

**So this chapter was moving the "romance" plot along. I think you guys are really going to enjoy it when I get to revealing the villain and tying everything together.**

**So I have a question for everyone. How would you like the big reveal to go down? Do you want Harry and the gang to be forced to use magic in front of Duo and the others to protect them? Or would you rather have Harry tell them the truth for some reason or another? Do you want flashy or dramatic? I pretty much know how I'm going to do it, but I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.**

**Please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Posted: April 13, 2015 (A reviewer asked that I put the date when I posted a chapter so they could keep track easier.)**

**A/N: So last chapter was the most highly reviewed chapter yet! THANK YOU! It was so interesting reading all your thoughts about the reveal. A lot of you are on the same wavelength as me which makes me happy and excited to write.**

**So this chapter reveals the Marriage Contracts to the public and who they affect. I think you'll like it.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Fifteen**

Training with Heero was borderline torture. He was strict and did not tolerate anything less than perfection. He worked hard with no with little to no breaks and did not let up. He barked orders coldly and efficiently and did not allow nonsense. He was the toughest and most competent teacher the Preventers had to offer and if you could survive his classes, you were practically guaranteed a spot among the elite.

Ron hated him.

Currently, Ron was sitting on the ground, trying to catch his breath during a five minute break. And it was exactly five minutes, as Heero had a stopwatch to keep track. Next to him, Harry was fairing better but he too was sitting the grass trying to catch his breath. On Harry's far side was Iien. The other boy was flopped on the ground, muttering something about karma and how he would never laugh at anyone for remedial training again.

"You suck," Ron grumbled to Harry. The teen glanced at him.

"You're the one who wanted to be a part of the task force."

"You knew though," Ron muttered. "You knew and you didn't even try to warn me."

"Nope." Harry grinned. "Misery loves company."

By the end of Harry's medical suspension, Heero had managed to present his evidence of "new technology" to Lady Une and gotten permission to start a task force whose purpose was to find this technology and the ones selling and creating it. Harry and the others had not interfered in any way. With Kingsley's permission, the nature of their mission had now changed. They still didn't want the Preventers knowing about magic, but their goal was now to help the Preventers find the person hiring wizards to expose magic and stop them while also keeping the Preventers in the dark.

When Heero announced his task force, Harry, Ron, and Iien immediately asked to be part of the team. Heero agreed to Harry easily, as he was Duo's current partner, but he hesitated on the other two. In the end he relented as both Trowa and Quatre recommended the younger boys and, they pointed out, they would need the extra bodies for investigating all the strange occurrences they had dug up.

However before Heero would allow the two on missions, he needed to determine their current levels, which meant training. Harry was forced to join as he was being punished for his rash behavior at the museum. So that was why the three trainees sat on the ground panting and thinking bad thoughts about Heero.

"Time is up," Heero called. Ron groaned but Harry and Iien knew better. Harry stood and pulled his protesting friend to his feet.

"How much longer is this going to last?"

"Windborne!" Iien exclaimed.

"Shut up!" Harry hissed.

Their warnings came too late. Heero pinned his icy blue eyes on the redhead who had the irrational urge to starting running.

"Part of training is learning self discipline," Heero stated coldly. "You must have the mental fortitude to carry out any task to your full ability even if you do not know how long the task will take. I will add more time to your training to help you learn this lesson."

Harry and Iien glared at Ron who looked horrified at what he'd accidentally brought on them. Heero blew his whistle and the three sighed as they started running. The other former pilots were on the sidelines getting ready for their own workout and paused to listen to Heero's lecture. Duo was clutching his sides with laughter while Quatre and Trowa looked on with sympathetic gazes, and Wufei nodded in approval of Heero's teaching techniques.

Harry glared at them all and kept running.

*!*!*

A week later, Trowa and Quatre were sitting at the dining table eating dinner. Trowa was slightly on edge because he could tell something was wrong with Quatre. His young lover was not chatting as he normally did and was staring at Trowa intensely. Trowa knew that face. It was the face Quatre wore right before he pounced on someone and interfered with their business. Even though Quatre's interference almost always helped, Trowa was still reluctant to accept it. They finished their meals and the maid took away the plates before Quatre spoke.

"So it's been two weeks since Sally told us the news."

Trowa held in a sigh. He knew this was what the blonde wanted to talk about. After two weeks, Trowa was still uncertain about what to do about James. He had taken Quatre's advice and tried to get to know the younger man but had made little progress. Trowa was not good at small talk and found starting conversations to be difficult and awkward.

For the past week he had offered to train alongside Duo and James. Even though Duo tried to make things natural, Trowa still felt like a third wheel. Duo knew why Trowa was trying to spend more time with them but James did not and because James was more comfortable with his partner, he tended to gravitate more to Duo. That wasn't to say he was rude or dismissive to Trowa, usually he was very polite. But he treated Trowa like a superior officer instead of a friend and that made getting to know him even more difficult.

Trowa had confided all of this to Quatre. The blonde's response was simple. He thought if they told James the truth about the DNA testing, the teen would be more open and would make more of an effort to get to know him. Trowa wasn't sure.

"Are you going to say anything?"

Trowa opened his mouth and closed it again. Quatre sighed.

"I think it's time. The longer you wait, the harder it will be. James will be more open when he knows the truth."

"Or he will shut me out completely."

"Why do you think that?"

Trowa shrugged. "Small things I have heard him say to Duo."

"Such as?"

"That he's fine not having family or his desire for one faded as he grew."

Quatre frowned. "It's very possible he says those things to protect himself from the pain of being alone."

Trowa shrugged. "That is what Duo believes as well. I am uncertain. I do not want him to feel obligated towards me."

Quatre placed a hand over Trowa's. "James is a very good person. Shall we compromise? Let's invite him over for dinner next week. That will give you more time to think about things and to try and get to know him. At dinner, you can tell him about the match or we can tell him together. Does that sound acceptable?"

Trowa nodded and Quatre smiled. They went to bed early that night but Trowa had trouble falling asleep, his mind troubled about his decision.

*!*!*

Wednesday was a horrible day for Harry. He woke up an hour before his alarm feeling unknown magic all around him. He snatched his wand and jumped from bed, ready for a fight. No enemies appeared and the small apartment was silent except for Iien's heavy breathing as he slept. The magic in the air began to gather and Harry looked down at his right hand, confused when his finger felt warm. A soft light emitted around his ring finger and hardened, becoming a silver band. Confused, Harry stared at the ring that had appeared.

He set his wand down and tried to pull the ring off. It wouldn't budge and the harder he pulled the smaller the ring seemed to get. Harry walked over to the sink and ran his hand under water but it didn't help. He tried greasing his fingers with some butter but that just made everything messy. After washing his hands, Harry pulled his wand out and tried to spell the ring off but nothing worked.

Thoroughly confused, Harry quickly changed and slipped from his apartment. He apparated to Hermione's flat and knocked loudly. He waited impatiently for the girl to answer the door. When she did, she was still in her sleeping clothes and looked confused as to why Harry was there.

"What's wrong?" she asked, stepping aside for and shutting the door quickly.

Harry held up his hand. "This ring appeared out of nowhere this morning. I can't get it off."

Hermione took his hand and looked at the pure silver band closely. She walked them over to the kitchen and ran Harry's hand under water before trying to remove the ring. It didn't work.

"It's magical," she said. "It has some sort of charm that prevents it from being taken off. Here, let me try..." she pulled out her wand. "_Eximo._"

Nothing happened and Hermione frowned. "You said it just appeared?"

"Yeah, it woke me up. I felt a strange magic and the next think I knew, this ring was on my finger refusing to come off."

"_Amoveo_." Hermione frowned deeper as the ring still refused to budge. "I don't know, Harry. There are no markings on it. Honestly, it looks like an engagement ring."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Right, because Duo learned how to do magic and spelled this ring on my finger."

Hermione paused and looked up at Harry shrewdly. "Oh? And what makes you think Duo would be the one putting a ring on your finger?"

Harry blinked before turning bright red. He grumbled something unintelligible at Hermione while the girl frowned at him. Before either of them could say anything more, their bracelets lit up, singling Ron trying to contact them.

"Harry, Hermione!" his voice called from the red stone. "I just got a message from the Minister. We need to report to the Ministry ASAP! Something big has happened."

Hermione and Harry traded looks before the girl quickly ran to the bedroom to change. Harry tapped his stone and related they would be right there. It only took a minute for Hermione to be ready and the two vanished from her apartment and reappeared in the main entrance for the Ministry of Magic. To their surprise, the place was full of witches and wizards. Everyone was standing around, talking to each other nervously and wearing panicked faces.

"What's going on?" Harry asked.

"Harry, Hermione!"

The two looked up as Ron's voice reached them. He was standing with the entire Weasley clan, minus Percy. The two hurried over to them, ignoring the people who bowed to Harry as they passed.

"What's going on?" Harry asked. Mrs. Weasley flung her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek before doing the same to Hermione.

"You've got one too," Bill murmured seriously, looking at Harry's hand. He held up the silver band.

"Yeah, it appeared a little while ago. What is it?"

Charlie held up his own hand, showing off a ring that was nearly identical to Harry's. The only difference between the two was Harry's was a lighter silver while Charlie's was darker.

"It's a Veela engagement ring," he announced.

Harry blinked. "You're getting engaged?"

"Don't be daft, Harry," Charlie snapped. "These are what appear on your hand when your promised to a Veela family through a Marriage Contract."

Harry stared at his own ring in horror. He looked around the room and noticed that many of the people present had silver rings on their fingers. Most were tugging at it futilely and looking upset.

"Why did they appear?" Harry asked worriedly.

"That's what we're here to find out," Mr. Weasley explained. "Kingsley called an emergency press conference and now we're waiting to hear what's going on."

"Charlie," Hermione spoke hesitatingly. She could tell the older boy was upset but she had a question. "Why is the ring on your finger? I thought it was supposed to be the oldest born son?" She looked at Bill, who had an arm around Fleur.

"Because Bill is married to a Veela already, he's exempt from the contract," Charlie explained, trying to keep his temper in check. It wasn't Hermione's fault this was happening and he didn't want to take his anger out on her. "So the responsibility of filling the contract falls to the next son, which is me."

"What about the families that don't have sons?" Harry asked, noticing a group of four standing nearby. The girl and her sister were in tears while their parents tried to comfort them.

"Most contracts do not specify gender," Fleur explained. "They state the eldest born child must fulfill the contract."

"But that doesn't make sense," Hermione argued. "What if the two families only have boys or girls? There's no point in forcing two people of the same gender to marry, they can't have children."

Fleur looked uncomfortable with all eyes on her. Normally she did well with the attention but right now she was not happy. She was a quarter Veela and everyone nearby who had noticed her was constantly shooting nasty looks her way.

"Producing heirs are a secondary concern for the Marriage Contracts," she explained. "There primary purpose is to increase the power and social standing of the family. If the situation happens when two people of the same sex marry and require an heir, the person of the opposite gender who is closet related to the Veela will be expected to step forth and help conceive a child with the person who was married into the family."

Harry and Hermione looked positively scandalized by her words. "So, for example, if Harry was paired with a male, then he would be expected to sleep with his husband's sister in order to conceive a child?"

Fleur nodded.

"Why wouldn't the husband just go find someone else?"

"Because if the husband found someone else to bare a child, that person would not be married or connected to the family. By having Harry have a child with the sister, the child is considered an heir because Harry is married to the family and the sister is a part of it."

"Can we stop using me as an example?" Harry interrupted, feeling sick.

Hermione placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Harry, I'm sure the Minister is going to get this all straightened out."

As soon as she spoke a hush fell over the crowd as Kingsley entered the hall with Percy and the other members of the council behind him. Harry recognized everyone from when he had sat in the meeting two and half weeks ago. Kingsley stepped up onto a raised platform to address the crowd.

"Thank you all for coming," he began but didn't get any further than that before people were shouting.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Why are these rings appearing now?"

"How do we get them off?"

"What do they mean?'

Kingsley held his hands up. "Please, let me explain. The rings are engagement rings that appear on the hands of the eldest child of a family the once had a Marriage Contract with a Veela family."

The crowd roared in anger.

"Those contracts are gone!"

"They were abandoned over sixty years ago!"

"We did not consent to this!"

Kingsley held up his hands again and Harry had to admire his ability to keep his calm. The witches and wizards looked ready to revolt.

"Most of you are aware that we have been in negotiations with the Veela for the last few months. Those negotiations have been hard and demanding with neither side fully satisfied. In order to prevent things from becoming violent, we have signed a temporary treaty of friendship with the Veela nation. One of the conditions of this treaty is the reinstatement of the Marriage Contracts that used to exist."

The angry shouting from the crowd was nearly deafening. Harry flinched away from the noise while the Weasleys huddled together, mostly blocking Fleur from view, just in case. They could pick out snippets of conversation shouted above the noise.

"-my daughter has a life, she's going abroad for school-"

"My son is already engaged! I've been planning the wedding for months!"

"If they want a fight, let's give it to them!"

"Better to start another war then sell off our children!"

At this, Kingsley held up his wand and a loud bang echoed around the room, silencing everyone. He spoke again, his voice booming and demanding everyone's attention.

"This is a temporary truce!" he announced. "By the end of the month this treaty will be void and we will have a permanent one in place. One that DOES NOT include the Marriage Contracts. These rings will vanish on the thirty-first and everyone will be free to live their lives how they see fit. I will not allow the Contracts to become permanent."

"How can we trust you? You've already signed one agreement including them, what's to say you won't do it again?"

Kingsley looked at the crowd very seriously. "Because my four year old daughter currently has a ring on her finger and I want it gone as much as anyone." The crowd was stunned into silence at his admission.

Harry sucked in a breath and grabbed Hermione's arm. "Teddy!" he whispered. He had no idea if the little boy had a ring right now and the thought of his Godson getting sucked into this made his heart skip a beat. Hermione looked at him worriedly before focusing on the Minister again.

"This treaty is temporary. The Veela public do not want Marriage Contracts as much as their leaders. By the end of this month, we will have this sorted out. Do not change your plans, do not put your lives on hold, continue on as if this were nothing and in a couple weeks, it will be."

The gathered crowd finally seemed pacified as no one shouted angrily again. Kingsley informed them he would be releasing the full treaty to the papers the next day so everyone who wanted to read it could. As he stepped down, the crowd began to disperse.

"Do you really think this will be okay?" Ginny asked, linking her arm with Charlie. The second oldest Weasley was staring at his hand in distaste.

"We'll have to put our faith in Kingsley," Arthur said. "He's never let us down before."

The group nodded and prepared to leave when they were interrupted by nasty voice.

"How dare you show your face here! After the trouble you and your kind have caused for my family –for all the families here- you think you can just walk in here like you belong?"

A tall witch with thin lips and her hair pulled into a tight bun was clutching the hand of a girl who looked no older than thirteen. On the girl's finger was silver ring and her face was red from crying. The woman was staring at Fleur with hatred.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Mr. Weasley stepped forward, wanting to stop this before things got out of control. "You've overstepped your rights. Please leave my family alone this instant."

The woman sneered. "You would count this creature as your family? Look at what they've done! Your own child there has a ring! What's wrong with you that you would defend these vain creatures?"

"That's my wife you're talking about!" Bill snapped. "You need to leave _now._"

"I'll leave when I give this nasty thing a piece of my mind!" The woman drew her wand and everyone still milling about stopped to watch the drama. "How dare your kind try and take my daughter from me! She's only thirteen!"

Bill pushed Fleur behind him while the Weasley clan drew their wands, ready to defend their sister-in-law against anyone. Harry quickly intervened, placing himself in between his surrogate family and the angry woman.

"Enough!" he shouted. "Put your wand away."

The angry mother froze as she looked at Harry, recognizing him instantly. She took a step back.

"But she is-"

"A Veela, so what?" Harry interrupted. "She wasn't part of the negotiations. She didn't force the contract through. You have no right to attack her like this and should be ashamed of your actions."

The woman backed down, lowering her wand.

"Take your daughter and go back home," Harry ordered. "Instead of lashing out at an innocent bystander, why not assure your family that this is only temporary and the rings will vanish at the end of the month, just as the Minister said. You acting like this doesn't help anyone, least of all your daughter."

Harry glanced around and noticed everyone was staring at him, hanging on his every word. He felt his resolve harden as they looked upon him with awe. He held up his hand, showing the ring to the crowd who gasped.

"We are all in this together," he said. "Don't start turning on members of the wizarding community who also have Veela blood. They are as much a victim as we are. Trust in the Ministry and have faith that this will all be resolved at the end of the month. I know I do."

The angry witch finally pocketed her wand. She snatched her daughter's hand and left without so much of a word of apology to Fleur. The crowd turned away, casting glances at Harry every few seconds. Harry turned back to the group.

"Thank you, Harry," Fleur whispered. Harry smiled at her.

"We should get out of here," Ron muttered. "Before something else happens."

"I've got to go check on Teddy," Harry said. "I'm worried. Tell Duo and the others I'll be late."

Ron nodded. "Will do."

Harry hugged and shook hands with the Weasleys before vanishing. He appeared at the gates to a large mansion made of red brick. The gates yielded to him instantly and Harry hurried up the gravel walkway. Well trimmed bushes and flowers lined the path and the lawn was perfectly kept. The wards around the old home allowed him access to the house and Harry hurried inside. He slipped his coat off and hung it up on the rack by the door before hurrying up the grand staircase. He ignored the paintings that called to him and quietly entered Teddy's room. The little boy was sound asleep in his large bed. Harry carefully pulled back the covers and checked his hands, relieved when he saw no ring.

"The Black family never had a contract with the Veelas," a raspy voice spoke quietly behind him. Harry turned to see Andromeda standing in the doorway, wrapped tightly in a white shawl. Harry covered his Godson up and quietly left the room, shutting the door behind him. Andromeda lead the way downstairs to the kitchen.

"It's in all the papers this morning. I listened to the Minister's speech in the fire earlier. A big mess our government has caused."

"Tell me about it," Harry grumbled, holding up his hand. The old woman studied the ring critically for a moment.

"This ring is different from the others. The more pure the silver that appears, the more powerful the family. Yours is pure silver which means the family you are contracted to is very powerful. Do you know who it is?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not interested in finding out either."

Andromeda nodded and served them both tea. "So you haven't been around at all for months now. Teddy thinks you've forgotten him."

Harry frowned. "I've been on a mission. It's really important."

"So is your Godson. His third birthday is in two weeks. You should come."

Harry wanted to, he really did, but he wasn't sure if he would be able to. If Heero assigned him and Duo a mission, Harry wouldn't be able to sneak away. He was going to get in trouble for being late to work today but checking on Teddy had been important.

"I'll try," he promised. "It's just this mission is crucial..."

"I understand that," Andromeda said. "But try explaining it to a three year old."

Guilt ate away at the young man. "Can I wake him up and say hi?"

Andromeda nodded. "He would like that."

Harry spent the next hour with his overly excited Godson. He knew he should return to the Preventers but he just couldn't bring himself to leave. Teddy was such a sweet toddler and was so happy to see Harry again. He took Harry around the house, showing him all his favorite places to play and "introducing" him to his favorite stuffed toys. When Harry finally said he had to leave, the toddler threw a fit, screaming and crying.

"I'm sorry, Teddy," Harry said, hugging the crying child. "I'll try and come back more often, I promise." He kissed the boy who turned and pouted. "I love you."

The little boy stomped away and hugged his Grandmother. Harry hung his head for a moment before standing and giving Andromeda a quick hug.

"Be safe, Harry dear," the woman ordered.

"I will. Here." He summoned a quill and parchment and wrote down an address. "This is were I'm currently staying. Andromeda," Harry looked her in the eye, "this is for emergencies only. Don't come here unless you absolutely have to, okay?"

She nodded. "I understand. Goodbye Harry."

Harry ruffled Teddy's hair once more before grabbing his coat and apparating back to Preventer Headquarters.

*!*!*

Harry was currently jogging lightly around the track at Preventer Headquarters. It was nighttime so no one was around. To his surprise, he hadn't been punished for being late that day. Heero had moodily mentioned something about Harry being an adult and it was unavoidable that some days he would be late. No one could be perfect all the time. Harry had the distinct feeling that Quatre was the one who stepped in on his behalf and made a mental note to thank the blonde the next time he saw him.

As Harry ran, enjoying the cool night air, he thought about how the task force was progressing. For the last two weeks, things had been slow. Heero and Wufei were constantly checking reports for strange occurrences and when they found one, they would assign a team to go investigate. So far every mission they had gone on was a bust and they had made no progress.

The way they were sent out on missions surprised Harry as well. He had thought he would work with Duo, like always, but Heero often paired him with Trowa. He seemed to have some sort of rotating schedule with the three trainees so that everyone worked with them equally. Harry figured it made sense, to have everyone working together and training the new guys, but he would be lying if he said not being partnered with Duo all the time didn't bug him. The two had barely gotten any alone time together since the task force started.

On the one hand, Harry knew this was probably a good thing. He knew he had to stop entertaining the idea of starting a relationship with his partner. On the other hand, he really missed being with Duo everyday. He missed the older man's mischievous smile and twinkling eyes. He missed how Duo always made him laugh and would wrap an arm around his shoulders. Harry missed the way they could sit and talk about nothing for hours on end, just enjoying each other's company.

Harry slowed down until he was walking. It was a cold night but he didn't notice. He planned on walking a lap to cool down and then returning home for the evening. Harry scratched at his hand and scowled down at the ring there. The stupid thing was always itching and Harry was starting to wonder if he was allergic to silver.

The sound of footsteps reached his ears and Harry paused, turning around. His hand hovered over where his wand was hidden but he quickly dropped it when he spotted Duo walking towards him. Harry smiled.

"I was just thinking about you," he said as way of greeting when Duo reached him.

"I'm flattered," Duo grinned. "What're you doing out here?"

Harry shrugged. "I missed working out this morning since I was late so I decided to get some running in now."

Duo rolled his eyes skyward. "Ugh, you're too responsible. Why not just enjoy getting out of training for once?" Duo wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders as they started walking again. "So why were you late? You never said."

"There was a minor family emergency," Harry explained. "I had to go check on my Godson."

"You have a Godson? What's that?"

"During the war two very close friends of mine had a baby named Teddy. I agreed to be the Godfather, which just means if something happened to them, I would help take care of the baby. They died at the end of the war and Teddy lives with his Grandmother now. I went over there this morning to check on him."

"How's he doing?"

"Fine. He's pretty mad at me for not coming over more often."

Duo nodded and without warning released Harry, twisting around to grab his wrist and hold it up. "So where'd you get the wedding the ring?"

Harry stopped walking and looked at him in surprise. No one had said anything about the ring so he assumed either they didn't notice or didn't care. But Duo was staring at it with obvious annoyance and Harry got the feeling he was angry.

"It's not a wedding ring," Harry answered. "It's kinda like a family heirloom. My great, great Grandfather wore it when he was alive. I found it recently and just thought it looked nice." Harry shrugged. "It reminds me of my family."

Harry was relieved when Duo accepted the story easily and let go of his wrist, linking their hands together. "So do you know a lot about your family?" Duo asked.

Harry was surprised by the question. Normally the two didn't talk about family because neither of them had one. It was a slightly sore topic for both of them. "I guess. Almost everything I know I learned from books. When I was younger I met a couple of people who knew my parents but they were both killed during the war so I didn't get a lot of time with either of them."

Duo nodded and glanced at him. "What would you do if you found family now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, if some crazy relative appeared from the woodwork, what would you say?"

Harry frowned, confused as to why Duo was asking about this stuff. "I don't know, nice to meet you?" He shook his head. "I don't have any family, Duo. Why are you asking?"

The older man shrugged. "Just curious. Guess I'm feeling a little nostalgic tonight."

They reached the end of the track and sat on the bench. Harry took a big drink of his water and stretched his legs. He always felt good after a work out.

"So why's Heero pairing us up randomly?" Harry asked.

"He's just making sure everyone's used to working with each other," Duo dismissed. He smirked. "Why, you miss working with me?"

"Well yeah," Harry said as if it were obvious. "Working with the other guys is fine, but you're my partner."

Warmed by his words, Duo smiled and grabbed Harry's chin. He gently turned Harry's face to him and brought their lips together for a sweet kiss. Privately he had been worried that James didn't care that they weren't working together as much anymore. It meant a lot to Duo that the other man missed him enough to say it.

Harry closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss. He ignored the voice in the back of his head (that sounded suspiciously like Hermione) saying that this was a bad idea. A single kiss wouldn't hurt anyone, right? He and Duo were both consenting adults. One kiss wouldn't do any harm.

But one kiss turned into two and then three... and Harry felt his hands move practically of their own accord as he reached up gently touched Duo's face. Duo pulled him closer and Harry opened his mouth wider, letting the other man explore. He moved his hands down Duo's side, delighted when he shivered at Harry's touch. Harry carefully slid his hands under Duo's shirt, feeling the smooth skin and hardened muscled.

Duo leaned forward and guided Harry to lay down on the bench. He removed his lips from the teen's and began kissing down his neck, nipping playfully along the way. Harry moaned out loud when Duo bit a spot on his collarbone and then slapped a hand over his mouth, extremely embarrassed by the sound he'd made completely on accident. Duo just laughed and kissed his fingers until Harry uncovered his mouth, revealing a shy smile.

They kissed again and Duo could feel the affects the make-out session was having on both of them. Duo wandered how far he should go. He realized, as his hands wandered under Harry's shirt, that he didn't even know if Harry was a virgin. He wouldn't have even thought about it but Harry acting so shy when he moaned made Duo question how many people the teen had been with in the past.

Duo's hand ghosted over the growing bulge in Harry's pants and the teen bucked up in surprise and gasped, "Duo!"

Duo was now fairly certain his partner was a virgin. It was that or he was just very sensitive. Either way, Duo was pleased with the response. "Yes James?"

Harry suddenly froze and his eyes flew open. Without warning he shoved Duo off of him and onto the ground, looking more than a little flustered. Duo grunted in surprise and looked up at the other man with an annoyed scowl.

"The hell, kid?"

"I'm sorry!" Harry exclaimed.

He had panicked the moment Duo had called him James. For a few minutes, Harry had been completely lost in pleasure, enjoying the feeling of Duo's hands and lips and wanting nothing more than to touch him back. But when Duo had called him James, Harry snapped out of the daze. How could he even think about being with someone who didn't know his real name?

"Er... I've got to go. I just remembered I forgot something!" Harry could feel his face turning red and refused to look at Duo. "I'll... I'll see you tomorrow." Without another word, Harry grabbed his water bottle and ran from the training yard. Duo stayed on the ground, watching him.

He snorted. "Yeah, totally a virgin. Nice going, asshole."

Duo collected himself off the ground and straightened his clothes. He was going to have to take a long shower tonight.

* * *

**A/N: So a nice make-out scene for everyone at the end there. It's scenes like that that are making me wonder if I should up the rating. That scene may have been fine but later in the story it might get a little more... intense? **

**Everyone's reviews have been so amazing these last few chapters is has inspired me to write. I planned on going back to once a week updating a while ago but, as you can tell, that didn't happen. I'm going to a gaming convention at University of Buffalo, New York, this weekend. It's called UB Con and I'll be selling my bead work (you can see it on my profile page). So on the off chance someone is going to UB Con this weekend, stop by Sarah's Melted Magic and say hi!**

**So what do you think of the Marriage Contracts? I changed them up a little to make their primary concern social status and power. I figured if I made the primary reason for them reproducing, there wasn't a logical reason for Harry to get caught up in one without making the story mpreg, which I did not want to do. So the whole point of the contracts is to strengthen the family socially and magically. If you have any questions, please please ask. Or if you noticed a plot hole I missed, point it out and I'll fix it.**

**Thank you! And please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Date Posted: April 16, 2015**

**A/N: Keeping things short but action packed this chapter. Thank you everyone for the reviews and Private Messages, you guys are total awesome-sauce!**

**Chapter Sixteen:**

The next morning Harry showed up at Hermione's place with small pack of doughnuts. The treats were actually for Duo, to apologize for shoving him last night, but he had bought an extra one for Hermione. He knocked on the door before and waited, wondering if his friend would care if he just let himself in. Before he could decide the door opened and revealed Ron, who's hair was wet from just having showered and wasn't wearing a shirt.

Harry playfully checked him out. "Nice."

Ron scowled. "Don't be gross, Harry." He stepped aside while Harry laughed and entered the apartment.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were here," Harry spoke.

"I spent the night," Ron answered. "This mission has really put a strain on us. I'll be glad when it's over and we can openly act like we're dating again instead of sneaking around."

Harry nodded and held out a doughnut. "Want one?"

"Sure. Mione's in the shower, she'll be out in a minute."

Harry nodded and made himself comfortable on the couch while Ron plopped into a chair. Harry knew when his friend entered the living room she was going to scold the redhead for eating without a plate but Ron either didn't realize this or didn't care. He munched away at his treat, getting crumbs everywhere.

"So what's up?" Ron asked, swallowing a bite of food.

"Nothing, I just wanted to talk to Hermione about something."

Ron nodded absently.

"Hey, you going to Quatre's place for dinner this weekend?" Harry asked.

"What?"

"Trowa invited me yesterday. He said Quatre was having everyone over for dinner."

Ron frowned. "No one asked me."

"That's weird, I wonder if they just didn't get a chance yet. Iien said he didn't get invited either."

"Maybe they just want you to go over."

Harry could tell Ron was feeling jealous. Even after all they had been through together, the redhead still sometimes felt a little envious of Harry. Unlike when they were younger, he didn't lash out with his feelings. The most he did was get a little grumpy and sulk for a bit.

"So why do you want to see Hermione?" Ron asked suddenly. "I mean, I know you two are secretly dating and whatever..."

Harry smiled. Every so often the trio would joke that Harry was dating Hermione as well, as they were constantly together. It probably would have caused tension between the three if Harry wasn't gay.

"It's nothing important."

"You showed up with doughnuts. What, you don't want me to know?"

"It's not that, it's not something you'd be interested in."

Ron barely restrained from glaring at him. "How would you know what I'm interested in?"

Harry sighed and stared at his best friend. "Last night Duo and I were making out and I was so into it I probably would have let him do whatever he wanted to me, until he called me James and I freaked out because I was fully prepared to have sex with a guy who has no idea who I really am."

Ron's eyes widened slightly and Harry had to force himself not to laugh. The redhead stood and walked down the hall. "Hermione! Harry's here!"

"You asked!" Harry yelled, his voice amused.

A minute later Hermione appeared in the living room, dressed for work. She smiled and hugged Harry hello. "Harry what are you- what have you done?" Hermione interrupted herself when she spotted the doughnuts sitting on the table.

Ron leaned over and kissed his girlfriend on the cheek. "I'll leave now and let you two have your girl talk. See you at the meeting, Harry."

"Bye."

The two made themselves comfortable on the couch and Hermione got straight to it. "So spill. What happened?"

Quickly, Harry summarized what happened the night before. Hermione frowned at him in disapproval. "This is exactly what I was worried would happen if you pursued a relationship with Duo."

"I know," Harry said. "I don't need a lecture, Hermione, I need advice."

"My advice is to stop before either one of you gets hurt."

"Well I was thinking instead of that I could tell Duo my name."

"Harry!"

"Not all of it, just my first name. I mean, I would tell him the truth. James is my middle name and Harry is my first. I decided to go by James when I joined the Preventers. See? Nothing about that is a lie and nothing casts doubt on us."

"You are playing with fire," Hermione frowned. "By admitting you lied in the first place, you are opening yourself up to scrutiny. What if he starts to wonder what else you were hiding from him? What if he starts asking questions you don't want –or can't- answer?"

"Hermione, Duo knows more about me than you realize. I mean, aside from my name, being a wizard, and the whole Savior thing, he knows everything."

"Those are three extremely important and defining traits."

"I don't want to lie to him anymore."

"Then finish the mission. Finish the mission and then maybe, _maybe_ you can tell him about yourself. Until then, you don't have much of a choice, Harry. The mission comes before your love life."

*!*!*

Harry was nearly late for the Task Force meeting after talking to Hermione. He hurried into the room and slipped into his seat at the round table next to Duo. The braided man grinned at him and Harry felt his face turning red. He quickly shoved the small box of doughnuts at his partner.

"We haven't gotten any since the task force started," Harry muttered. Duo grinned and happily snatched a sugary treat, winking at Harry.

"What the hell James?" Iien called, grinning. "You know, if you don't bring enough for the whole class you're not supposed to bring any at all."

"Hey, trainee, get your own boyfriend to bring you breakfast and leave mine alone."

Harry froze in seat when he heard Duo refer to him as his boyfriend. They hadn't actually sat down and discussed their relationship but Harry supposed after last night it made perfect sense for Duo to assume they were going out. If the circumstances were different Harry would think the same thing.

"Oh man," Ron said loudly. "I'm surrounded by gays? Is there anyone normal around here?"

The other men in the room stared at him shock, not realizing he was teasing. Harry knew though and answered with a smile. "Hell no, we're taking over the damn world, didn't you know?"

The two friends laughed and the others relaxed, realizing Ron was just joking. The doors opened and Heero walked in with Wufei.

"We have new assignments for everyone," Wufei announced with preamble.

"Oh, none for me, I'm afraid," Quatre interrupted. "I have too much work to do at the company. Perhaps next week I'll be of more assistance."

Duo turned to the blonde. "If you're not helping, why are you here?"

"I don't have any meetings until later this morning so I thought I would come and check in."

"You're killing time before work by going to work?" Harry asked incredulously. He turned a teasing smiling to Trowa. "You need to get him out more."

The people sitting chuckled at the teasing while Quatre rolled his eyes, a smile playing at his lips.

Wufei cleared his throat loudly and the group faced the two again. "Fine, we'll save your assignment for later. For today, Barton will be working with Iien-"

"Hang on a second," Iien interrupted. Wufei glared at him and Iien almost backed down. "Um, I was thinking, we've been working with you guys on this task force for three weeks now, I think it's time for us to get our own mission."

Ron and Harry exchanged looks and nodded, liking this idea.

"Yeah," Ron jumped in. "It feels like you guys are always babysitting us. Why not let us go on a mission alone?"

"Trainees are not permitted to go on missions alone."

"Then we'll go together," Harry joined in. "Give us a chance to prove we don't need you guys looking over our shoulders all the time."

"We're pretty damn good," Iien said. "I mean, we have to be, you guys trained us."

Wufei looked thoroughly annoyed with the young men. Duo leaned back in his seat, his face amused. "I'm okay with that."

Trowa and Quatre also added their consent. Everyone turned to Heero who nodded once, sharply.

"Very well. You will be allowed one mission to test your abilities." He took a file from Wufei and shoved it towards Harry. "Porter will be in charge."

*!*!*

Harry, Ron, and Iien stood on a hill overlooking a small town about an hour outside of London. The landscape was beautiful, with rolling green hills and a forest bordering the town. A small river could be seen in the distance and birds were flying over it peacefully. The town itself was quiet and didn't appear to have a lot going on in terms of excitement.

"Okay, if this place doesn't scream 'place-where-weird-things-happen' I don't know what does," Iien said, his voice excited.

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked. "This looks like some backwater town where nothing ever happens."

"But that's the cliché!" Iien insisted. "The place where nothing ever happens is always the place where something big happens!"

"That doesn't make sense."

Harry laughed at his friends and opened the jeep door. "Come on, we're losing daylight. Let's go interview people."

The other two boys climbed into the jeep, Iien driving. Even though Harry and Ron knew how to drive neither was very comfortable doing it.

"So we're here because there have been reports of strange creatures being sighted, right?" Iien asked.

"Yeah, evil leprechauns and giant flying lizards."

Iien glanced at Harry, who was looking at the mission file. "Duo wouldn't take a prank this far, right? Heero or Wufei would stop him before they let us leave and waste our time."

"I checked with Heero and Wufei, it's not a prank. This is a real mission."

"If you say so..."

As they drove to the center of town, Ron and Harry were able to spot houses that didn't quite fit in with their neighbors. A couple gardens were a little more well off than others and there was a certain oddness about some of the people walking around. They shared a look, both acknowledging that the little town of Melville was a magical and muggle community.

Iien parked downtown next to the local police station. They climbed from the car and Harry smothered his bangs over his forehead. He had been growing his hair longer than usual so it hid his scar better.

"Iien, Arthur, go talk to the police and see if they have anything new. I'm going to talk with the people. One of the civilians named in the report lives nearby."

The two nodded and they split up. Harry wandered down a street and watched the house numbers. About halfway down the road, he came up the house he was looking. It was empty with a large for sale sign in the yard. He too out his phone and doubled checked the address, sighing when it was correct.

He turned to look at the quiet street. Across the road a woman was wearing a large sun hat while bent over her garden. She looked to be talking to herself but as Harry drew closer, he realized she was scolding a group of gnomes. The gnomes scattered as he approached and the woman looked up in surprise.

"Hello? Can I help you?" she asked.

"Hullo, my name's James Porter, I work with the Preventers." He held out his hand and the woman stood, brushing dirt from herself before taking it.

"Clarissa Clensten."

"Nice to meet you. I was wondering if you knew about the people who used to live across the street?"

"The Talbots? Oh they moved out just recently, probably about two, maybe three weeks ago."

"Do you know if they left a forwarding address?"

The woman shook her head, making her large hat flop from side to side. "No, they left in hurry. They were terrified of something and said the police wouldn't help so they needed to leave."

Harry glanced at the gnomes hiding in the garden and reached out with his magic. Clarissa was definitely a witch so Harry felt comfortable asking her his next question.

"I have a report that says they saw leprechauns and flying lizards. You wouldn't happen to know what magical creatures they were referring to, would you?"

Clarissa looked surprised by the question and put on a guarded face. "_Magical_ creatures, you say?"

Harry lifted his hair up and revealed his scar and the woman gasped, taking half a step backwards in surprise. She immediately began fussing with her clothes and straightened her hat.

"Lord Savior! Please forgive my rudeness, I didn't realize I was talking to you."

"You weren't rude at all," Harry assured the woman. "Please, can you tell me anything about the Talbots?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed. "They're a nice muggle family, not an ounce of magic anywhere in them. Their children –a little boy and girl- were very sweet. I often had them over for cookies. They were simply adorable and very polite, their mother didn't tolerate rudeness of any kind..."

Harry held up a hand to stop the woman. "I mean, about them seeing anything magical."

"Oh yes, of course!" Clarissa laughed nervously and Harry schooled himself to be patient. The woman was just a little starstruck. "It was the children who first said something. They claimed to see leprechauns in the woods. I, naturally, dismissed this as nothing more than active imagination because, as I'm sure you know, leprechauns don't inhabit this part of the country. They prefer to stay in Ireland and it's nearly unheard for one of them to leave their home."

Harry nodded.

"But one day the kids were describing the creature to me and I realized, they weren't describing a leprechaun, but a goblin! The poor dears didn't know the difference! They merely saw the small stature and made assumptions. Naturally I became worried and ordered the children not to go back to the woods and of course they didn't listen. Rambunctious little scamps."

Harry smiled. "What happened next?"

"They were attacked. It was horrible, the little girl had to spend two nights in the hospital."

"Goblins attacked them?"

"No, actually, I'm not sure what did. Her brother described it as a flying monster that looked like a lizard but with claws and fangs. I'm not sure what he was describing. I informed the Ministry at once and they came, made sure the girl was okay, did a sweep of the woods and found nothing, and then left. That was it. We haven't had anymore trouble since then but the Talbots still packed up and moved, frightened by what had happened."

Harry nodded. "Can you tell me where in the woods the children saw all this?"

She pointed behind her house. "At the edge of the town there's a well where the children like to go and play. You'll be able to see a path into the woods and if you follow it you'll find the clearing where the attack happened. I believe the muggle police still have it marked off."

"Thank you very much," Harry said. "You've been a huge help."

The woman beamed. "I'm so glad I could be of assistance. Would you perhaps like to come in for tea and cookies?"

"Thank you but I can't. I'm working." Harry held out his hand and Clarissa shook it reverently. "Have a good day."

"And you as well, Savior. Merlin Bless you."

Harry made his way back to the center of town where Ron and Iien were waiting at the jeep. He joined them and asked, "Find out anything?"

Iien shook his head. "The police said they never found out what kind of animal attacked the girl and they've combed the woods."

"No one else has reported seeing anything strange," Ron added. "Did you talk to the family?"

"No, they've moved out of town, but I talked to the neighbor. She told me where the attack happened and I figured we could go check it out."

"Can't hurt," Iien shrugged.

The group climbed into the car and Harry directed Iien where to go. After a short ride they parked the jeep near the well Clarissa had mentioned and climbed out. There was no one around and Harry assumed that meant the children were no longer allowed to play near here after what happened.

They found the path into the woods and followed it until they came across a creek, marking off with yellow police tape. A old fort crudely made from branches was half collapsed. Harry reached out with his senses but didn't detect anything out of the ordinary. Iien got their attention and pointed at a tree.

"Claw marks," he said. "And big ones."

The tree was torn up but other than that, there was nothing out of place in the clearing.

"I think this is a dead end," Iien sighed, leaning against a tree. "That little girl got attacked by an animal and her brother was so scared he made up some story to try and deal with it."

"I agree," Harry said. "We should check in with Heero and probably head back. There's nothing here."

They left the woods and returned to the jeep. When they arrived they spotted a woman with a large hat standing near the vehicle. She was carrying a large tin with a baby duck on it. As soon as she saw Harry, she grinned and waved.

"Savior!" Clarissa ran over. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, I know you're working but I felt so guilty for not being a better host." She shoved the tin into his hands. "I just baked these fresh this morning, please, take them. My way of showing my gratitude."

Ron was trying to hide a smile at how uncomfortable Harry suddenly was. He took the tin awkwardly. "Er... thank you."

"Did you just call him Savior?" Iien asked, staring at the woman in confusion.

Clarissa blinked at him and Harry quickly intervened. "I...I saved her cat. From a tree."

Iien stared at him.

"Oh yes, yes!" Clarissa jumped in. "My little...uh, Darla! She was stuck and this nice young man climbed up and got her down. I was so very grateful."

"Right..."

Harry quickly turned to the witch. "Thank you, ma'am. I'm sure these will be great."

"Of course! If you ever need anything, please, don't hesitate to ask." Clarissa grinned widely before practically skipping away. Once she was far down the road, Harry carefully peeked inside the tin. The cookies were completely normal and he sighed in relief. He glanced up at Ron and Iien, who were both fighting back laughter.

"Let's contact Heero," Harry grumbled, his face turning red. His friends laughed and Harry grabbed his phone, dialing Heero's number. It only rang once before Heero's crisp voice answered.

"Report."

"We didn't find anything," Harry said. "The Talbot family moved away a while ago and the place where the attack happened is clear."

"Did you talk to the neighbors?" Duo's voice asked over the speakers.

"Oh he talked," Iien said, his voice amused. "He rescued cats, got some cookies, and has his very own fan."

Ron and Iien laughed again while Harry scowled at them.

"What?" Duo asked.

"Nothing, I helped a lady get her cat out of a tree and she gave me some cookies to say thanks."

"Geez kid, I let you go on one mission alone and you're charming old ladies behind my back?" Duo asked, sounding very amused.

"Shut up," Harry grumbled. He really wished he would have thought of a different excuse.

"Has anyone else reported anything strange happening in the area?" Heero cut in, getting everyone back on track.

"No, the police said there weren't any other strange sightings and they never found the animal that attacked the little girl," Iien reported. "We—"

Before Iien could finish, Harry's senses kicked into overdrive. Without thinking he dropped his phone and grabbed Iien around the shoulders, pulling him to the ground harshly.

"Look out!" he shouted.

A fireball hit their jeep and sent it crashing onto its side. Ron was thrown backwards and knocked his head on the ground, seeing stars from the impact.

"Arthur!"

Iien shook Harry off and jumped up to grab the redhead, pulling him behind the jeep. Harry joined them, looking around for their attacker. A loud screech filled the air and they looked up as a shadow flew over them. A long creature with sharp claws and spindly wings was circling over their heads. It was vaguely lizard shaped with beady black eyes.

"What the fuck...?" Iien gasped.

The thing spotted them and opened its mouth. Fire gathered between its jaws as it flung its head forward, spitting a fireball at them. The boys threw themselves on the ground, covering their heads as the jeep took the blast, catching fire.

"Into the woods!" Harry yelled. "The trees will give us cover!"

They scrambled to their feet and made a mad dash for the cover of the forest. The creature spat another fireball at them but missed.

"Are we seriously being chased by a dragon?" Iien yelled, dodging trees as they ran.

"It's not a dragon," Ron gasped, jumping over a root. "It's wyvern. Dragons are bigger and have scales."

Iien risked a glance at him while running. "Are you actually giving me a nerd lecture right now?"

"Wyverns don't attack on their own," Harry said. "Someone's controlling it."

"Obviously!" Iien snapped. "That thing isn't real! It's gotta be some sort of robot!"

Ron and Harry exchanged looks just as a fireball crashed through the trees in front of them. The group was forced to skid to a stop as the forest before them was engulfed in flames. The wyvern came crashing through the tree tops, its claws extended. The three jumped to the side, barely avoiding the attack. Its tail swung around and caught Iien in the chest, sending him flying through the air. He crashed into a tree trunk so hard his body left a large dent and he collapsed to the ground.

"Iien!" Harry shouted.

The wyvern attacked again and Ron drew his wand, hitting it with curse in the back. It roared in anger and twisted around, striking with its claws. Ron dove to the side and skid through the dirt.

"Blind it!" Harry shouted.

He drew his wand and shot a spell at the wyvern's face. The beast used its wings to protect itself before roaring and launching into the sky. It circled around and dove straight towards Ron. The redhead flipped over into his back and aimed his wand. As soon as the creature's stomach was exposed he shouted, "_Confodio_!"

A jet of red light shot from the tip of his wand and pierced the wyvern's unprotected belly. Blood exploded from the wound and the creature screeched before crashing into Ron. The two rolled from the impact and neither got up again.

"Ron!" Harry shouted and ran towards his friend. Before he could reach him, two figures appeared directly in his path, one male, one female. They had beaked heads and long scaly wings protruding from their shoulders. Harry knew right away they were Veela but he had no idea why they were here now, attacking them.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded.

The Veela did not answer as they attacked. The female led the charge, her claws extended, but vanished at the last moment. The male struck out and Harry dodged to the side to avoid the hit but was caught off guard by the woman appearing next to him and scratching his shoulder. Harry yelled in pain and kicked out, catching the woman in the chest and sending her flying. She recovered easily and hovered in the air a moment before landing.

Harry cast a protection charm on himself quickly before pointing his wand at the male Veela. The Veela merely stood there and Harry didn't waste time being confused. He shot a powerful stunner at the creature but was surprised when the spell fizzled out. A sharp pain in his hand made Harry cry out and drop his wand. He looked down and noticed the silver engagement ring glowing angrily.

The Veela attacked again and Harry managed to grab his wand and roll to the side. He aimed once more and tried to cast a disabling charm but once again, the spell fizzled and his hand exploded with pain. He cried out and dropped his wand again, clutching his hand to him. The ring was glowing brightly and starting to turn red, burning him.

The Veela summoned fireballs and threw them at Harry. Harry held out the hand without the ring and cast a flame freezing charm just as he was engulfed by fire. Because he didn't use his wand the charm was weak and the flames still burned his skin. Angry and confused as to why he couldn't use his wand, Harry gathered his magic and shoved it outwards. A strong gust of wind put out the flames and he stood, breathing hard.

"You think you've got what it takes to beat me?" Harry shouted.

He felt his magic growing from deep inside him and gathered it into his left hand. A swirling ball of light appeared and slowly started to grow. The Veela backed away, unsure of the growing power.

"You're not the only ones who know how to through a fireball," Harry growled.

He released the glowing ball of light, striking the Veela head on. They were thrown back, crashing through the trunks of the trees. The ring on Harry's finger turned red and he collapsed onto the ground, clutching his hand in agony. Harry forced himself to focus on something other than the pain and looked up, searching for his enemy. The Veela were slowly crawling to their feet, both hurt and stumbling. The girl's wing was hanging at an awkward angel and she flinched when the male touched it.

They both shot Harry a look of hatred before the male gathered the girl into his arms and jumped into the sky. They flew away and Harry let himself collapse onto the ground. He curled into a ball, holding his hand tightly before mercifully falling unconscious.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, next chapter. The next chapter is the one everyone's been waiting for. Two outta three of the "reveals" will happen then. Cuz really, when's the best time to spill your guts? While you're sitting in a hospital bed recovering, of course! Lol**

**So my convention is Friday-Sunday so you won't see an update again until sometime next week. Sorry to leave you with such a cliffhanger. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I tried to make it lighthearted with jokes thrown in since next chapter is going to be so serious.**

**Thank you all so much for continuing to review! You are all the super awesome best! See you next week!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Date Posted: April 21, 2015**

**A/N: Okay, so everyone had lots of questions after last chapter. Many answers are revealed in this one but some aren't revealed until the next. So just keep your questions in mind and if they aren't answered here, they will (most likely) be answered in the next chapter.**

**Chapter Seventeen:**

Duo was sitting next to James's bed, watching Jean hover over Arthur's unconscious form. The redhead had been crushed by something but they had no idea what. They were working under the assumption that it was whatever attacked the trainees but so far the Preventers hadn't found any evidence as to _what_ that was. Sally was fairly sure that Arthur had a couple broken ribs and a minor concussion but couldn't confirm it because every time she attempted to run a scan on the redhead, the images came out blurry and hard to read. Frustrated, Sally ordered the machines to be looked over by a technician. The doctor was still fairly certain even without the scans that Arthur would heal just fine but that didn't stop Jean from worrying. Duo hadn't known the two were dating but as he watched the gentle way the woman placed a hand on his forehead and looked at Arthur so kindly, Duo was positive they were in love. Or at least, Jean was.

After checking on Arthur, Jean made her way over to James. She smiled tiredly at Duo who nodded at her. She checked over James as carefully and thoroughly as Arthur, looking at him with worry and brushing hair from his face. She didn't have the same expression of love when she looked at James but there was a tenderness in her gaze that spoke of deep friendship.

James was covered in minor burns throughout his whole body. They were only first degree and Sally had Jean constantly rubbing an ointment over them to help them heal faster and not leave scars. His hand was the other concern. James's right hand was angry red and the silver ring he wore couldn't be removed, no matter how hard they tried. Sally wanted to cut it off but Duo had stopped her, explaining it was a family heirloom. She agreed to wait until he woke up before deciding if it would be necessary to cut the band off. Other than that, James had a large bruise on the side of his face but nothing was broken.

Jean set James's chart down and went to check on Iien. Iien had received a concision and his back was covered in dark purple bruises. He lay on his stomach as it hurt less. Luckily, nothing was broken, but Sally suspected he would need to see a chiropractor for a few weeks. Jean was just as meticulous while checking on the young man but nowhere near as concerned for him as she was the other two.

"Mr. Kron?" Jean suddenly spoke. She knelt down and smiled. "Don't try and move. You're in the hospital back at Preventer Headquarters. Can you speak?"

Iien nodded. "Water?" he asked.

The girl nodded and hurried to pour a glass while Duo stood and came around to the other side of the bed. Jean held the straw to Iien's lips and held the cup while he drank. He pulled away and smiled weakly at her.

"Thanks."

"Your back isn't broken, but I want you to try and stay still. You're going to be confined to bed for the next couple of days. If the pain gets to be too much, press this button." She placed a button in his hand. "It will give you a dose morphine but only once every four hours. Please, only use it if you have to."

"Okay."

Jean turned to Duo and stepped aside. "I'll let you two talk but try to keep it short, he needs rest."

He nodded. "Thanks Jean." Duo grabbed a chair and pulled it closer to the bed. "Weren't you the one bragging you could handle things?"

Iien didn't crack a smile. "What happened?"

"I was hoping you would tell me. After your call got cut off we came running. By the time we found you three, all of you were knocked out. What do you remember?"

Iien explained the creature and how it had attacked out of nowhere with fireballs. He explained everything up until the point the creature had knocked him out and then paused, looking uncertain.

"What is it?" Duo pressed.

"I'm not sure..." Iien glanced away.

"Whatever it is, just say it. You're not going to get in trouble or be punished. Just tell me everything, no matter how small."

Jean reentered the room and walked past them quietly, going to stand by Harry's bed. In her pocket she fingered Ron and Harry's wands. She had managed to summon them and use magic to disguise them without the Preventers knowing. She grabbed a chart and studied it before checking on the Harry's IV.

Iien didn't notice her. "I woke up for a second, at least, I think I did. I saw something and I'm not sure what."

"Describe it."

"There were these... creatures. They had human bodies but bird faces and claws. They threw a ball of fire at James and he was surrounded, I mean, _surrounded._ The fire just swallowed him up and I was sure he was dead cuz no one could survive being burned alive like that." Iien was frowning, his voice both confused and slightly scared. Duo didn't interrupt as he listened. "But then James was standing and he shouted something and the flames just... went out. Like he made them go out. Then he summoned his own fireball and threw it at the creatures."

Iien's face showed how confused he was but also that he was afraid. He tried to keep his voice calm but it shook slightly. "It didn't make any sense. It wasn't... _natural._ How could someone do that? How could they just survive all that fire? It's not natural."

Jean walked over to the bed and Duo noticed a cold look in her eye, though her voice didn't betray it when she spoke. "He needs to rest, Duo. Is there anything else urgent or can your questions wait?"

Duo shook his head and Iien closed his eyes, falling into a troubled sleep. Duo wandered back over to James and stopped, startled when he saw James was awake. He sat down and touched his hair.

"Hey..."

James didn't look at him as he glared at the ceiling. "I'm not a freak."

"No one said you were, kid."

James turned his gaze towards Iien and Duo realized he had heard what the other man had said.

"Hey, he was just scared. He's probably never been through something like this and is just processing. I know you weren't throwing fireballs around."

James glanced at Duo before staring at the ceiling again. "I'm not a freak." James closed his eyes and Duo didn't say anything.

*!*!*

When Harry woke up next, Duo was gone. Instead, Trowa was sitting in the chair next to his bed. Both Iien and Ron's beds were empty and Harry wondered if that was a good sign or bad. He turned his head to Trowa, who looked up from his book when he heard Harry move.

"How do you feel?" Trowa asked.

"Fine. A little sore." He carefully sat up and Trowa set his book down in order to help him. The older man grabbed a cup and filled it with water, handing it Harry. "Thanks." He took a sip and looked at the empty beds. "Where are they?"

"Both are getting X-rays and an MRI, now that the machine has been looked over by the technicians," Trowa explained. "Sally believes they shall make full recoveries."

Harry nodded, feeling relieved. "That's good." He looked down and noticed the light burns on his hands. "Anything I should worry about?"

"You're burns are minor," Trowa answered. "And you have no broken bones. You will probably be able to leave tomorrow."

Harry nodded. "Thank you for sitting with me, you didn't have to."

"It was not an inconvenience. Duo was insistent that you not be left alone."

"Where is he?"

"A meeting with Heero."

Harry nodded and glanced down at his hands again. The silver ring had returned to normal and Harry fingered it, wondering why it had flared up and hurt him during the fight. He had used his magic without any problem after the ring appeared so why had it interfered with his battle?

"Jean has contacted Iien and Arthur's families but we did not have an emergency contact on file for you."

Harry shrugged. "There's really no one to call." Harry's only family was here with him undercover or Teddy, who was three. He amused himself with the idea of a three-year-old being his emergency contact and smiled lightly.

Trowa hesitated but hearing Harry's words made up his mind. He knew how it felt to be completely alone. Luckily for Trowa, he had found Quatre and his friends, so he was no longer by himself. From what he had seen, James did not have that. He mentioned having close friends but Trowa knew next to nothing about them. Seeing James lying hurt in the hospital with no one expected to come see him helped Trowa to find the courage to speak.

"There is something I wished to talk to you about."

Harry braced himself. He didn't want to talk about the fight or the mission. He hadn't had an opportunity to discuss anything with Hermione or Ron and didn't know what he should say and what he shouldn't.

"Look about the mission..." Harry started but Trowa interrupted him.

"That can wait," he said. "I have something else to discuss with you that is important."

Confused, Harry looked up into the serious face of the older man. Trowa reached for his book and pulled out a couple papers that were folded inside the pages.

"Do you know what the FRA is?"

Harry nodded.

"I have never known my family or my history," Trowa explained quietly. "When I was a child I suffered from an extremely severe case of amnesia and my memories were never recovered."

Harry stared at him in surprise. He didn't interrupt, unsure of why Trowa would tell him something so personal.

"I agreed to put my DNA on file because it was required for Preventer Agents. I never expected it to find a match for myself and was extremely shocked when it did."

Harry blinked and glanced at the papers Trowa was holding. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach where this conversation was going. Harry hadn't heard anything about the FRA since Hermione had mentioned it three weeks ago. He had thought she took care of everything.

"The match has been confirmed. It revealed that myself and another person share a common mother."

Harry glanced at the papers, recognizing them from when Hermione had showed them to him. The only difference was these didn't have a name blacked out. Harry glanced at them and then back at Trowa. The older man was shifting his gaze between Harry's face and the documents in his hands.

"You think we're related?"

Trowa nodded. "I am certain. Sally Po ran the tests multiple times herself. There is no room for error or mistake."

Harry wasn't sure what to say. He had expected Trowa to ask about the mission, demand answers about what happened. He did not, in a million years, expect the other man to hand him a stack of papers declaring them related.

"I don't have any family," Harry said.

"I can not explain why I did not grow up with your family. I can only tell you that the DNA tests are accurate and we share a mother."

Harry swallowed the lump growing in his throat. "My mum gave a baby up for adoption when she was fifteen." Harry glanced around the hospital room and spotted a laptop. He pointed at it. "Hand me that."

Trowa did as asked and Harry started the computer. He paused thoughtfully for a moment before searching the internet for a very specific news report. He knew exactly where to find it as he had read it many times before. It detailed the tragedy of a plane crash that left no survivors. Harry turned the computer to Trowa who looked at the story in confusion.

"My mum gave up her baby for adoption because she was raped. She was too young to be a mother but didn't believe in abortion. I found out about him two years ago and went looking. This is what I found." He gestured at the article. "He was about ten and was on vacation with his adoptive family when the plane they were on crashed and everyone was killed."

Trowa read the article and Harry didn't speak while he took everything in.

"It would explain my memory loss," Trowa said quietly. "And why no one ever came to claim me."

Harry could feel his hands starting to shake. He felt lightheaded and couldn't believe what he was hearing, what was being said to him. He looked at the papers in his hands and was surprised to feel tears stinging his eyes. Could this really be true? Could the brother he thought had died really be alive and sitting before him?

"I..." Harry stopped, unsure of what to say. Trowa also didn't speak and soon the silence became awkward.

"Tristan," Harry blurted out. "The family named my mom's son Tristan. I mean, I know you're not going to change your name or anything, but I thought you'd might want to know."

Trowa nodded slowly, repeating the name in his head. It meant nothing to him. It didn't spark any memories or feel familiar. But then, the name Trowa also didn't mean anything to him. Trowa was the name he had taken from a man he had killed in order to become a Gundam Pilot.

"What was her name?" Trowa asked softly.

"Lily."

He smiled. Lily was a nice name. It sounded like something Quatre would pick for a girl. The door to the room opened and a Hermione walked in, pushing Ron in a wheelchair. They were both smiling at each other and their grins widened when they saw Harry awake.

"James! Glad to see you up mate!" Ron greeted. "Hey Trowa."

Hermione noticed something off right away but put on smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Overwhelmed," Harry answered truthfully. The two looked confused and Trowa stood.

"I must go meet with Heero and the others," he said. "Please, keep what we have discussed to yourself."

Harry nodded absently and Trowa left without another word. As soon as he was gone, Hermione shut the door and rolled Ron over to the bed.

"What was that about?"

Without a word, Harry handed the papers to his friend. She took them and scanned them quickly, her eyes going wide.

"I thought it was mistake," Harry said. "I thought you took care of it."

"All I did was enter the results as an error into the system. If Sally went back and checked things herself, she could easily have change it."

"What is it?" Ron demanded.

Harry glanced at him. "Trowa Barton is my not-so-dead half-brother."

Ron's eyes became huge and his jaw dropped slightly. "Seriously?"

They looked to Hermione who nodded. "The test was performed multiple times with the same result each time. There's no mistake. They share a mother."

The trio fell quiet, digesting the new information. Finally, Ron turned to Harry. "Damn mate, fate never screws with you halfway, does it?"

Despite his shell-shocked state, Harry laughed.

*!*!*

That night Harry was lying wide awake, listening to the gentle snores of his two roommates. Iien had barely spoken to them beyond asking how they were doing. Harry had wanted to say something but decided it was best to let the matter drop. Hopefully Duo was right and Iien was just scared and would get over what he had seen with time.

Heero had stopped by earlier that day and asked Ron and Harry about the mission. Both had had the opportunity to talk to each other so they fed him the same story about being attacked by a creature that resembled a wyvern and denied any knowledge of the bird people Iien had mentioned. Heero didn't comment on their story as he awkwardly wished them both a speedy recovery before leaving.

The door opened almost silently and Harry sat up as Duo walked in without making a sound. He smiled and scooted over so Duo could squeeze into the hospital bed with him.

"I was starting to think you forgot about me," Harry whispered. "I haven't seen you all day."

"I figured you needed time alone to process."

Harry looked surprised. "Trowa told you?"

Duo nodded.

They lay down, each resting an arm on the other's waist. "I don't know what to think," Harry admitted. "I'm an orphan."

"Me too."

Harry paused and blinked. He was embarrassed to admit he'd forgotten that for a moment. Duo grew up on the streets of L2 with no family.

"What would you do? If someone came up to you and said they were your family?"

Duo shrugged. "Probably laugh in their face and keep on going. I have a nice life right here. I found a group of friends I care about enough to call my family and that's all I need."

Harry nodded. Ron and Hermione, the Weasley clan, Teddy… they were all he needed. They were his close group of friends that he called family. "But… but would you _want_ to know?"

Duo thought about it before answering. "Maybe. I guess it would be nice to know where I come from but I'm not going to go searching. I'm fine with how things are now."

Harry nodded. "Yeah…" he snuggled closer and rested his head on Duo's shoulder. "I'm fine too." Harry was too lost in his thoughts to feel Duo stiffen under him. "But even if everything's fine, I would still like to know."

Duo relaxed and shifted to pull them closer. "Trowa's a good person. It might take a while for him to open up, but he's a nice guy."

Harry nodded. "We look a lot alike. I didn't notice it before."

"Yeah, you both have the same dumb expression when you're confused," Duo teased. Harry gently whacked him on the shoulder. "Relax James, you don't want you to hurt yourself again."

Harry pulled away and sat up abruptly. Duo, confused, sat up as well. "What's wrong?"

"I have something to tell you. Please don't get mad at me."

Duo raised an eyebrow, waiting.

Harry took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "James isn't my real name."

Duo stilled. "...What?"

"James is my middle name. My first name is Harry. I changed it when I joined the Preventers."

Duo pulled away from Harry completely and the teen felt himself beginning to panic. He just wanted to tell Duo the truth. With what Trowa had revealed earlier that day, Harry knew now it was only matter of time before all the secrets were brought to light. He would have to tell them about the Wizarding World and magic and maybe even confess why he was at the Preventers in the first place. Harry would rather Duo heard the truth from him now and not from someone else later on. He wanted to confess everything and hoped with all his heart that Duo would forgive the deceit.

"Why?" Duo asked, guarded.

"Because... I don't know."

As much as Harry wanted to tell him everything, he knew he couldn't. He couldn't reveal the mission or the Wizarding World, not yet, not without Kingsley's permission. But he could reveal the truth about himself. Even if he wasn't allowed to tell Duo about magic, there was no one around to stop him from blurting out his own personal secrets and tragedies.

"Because I wanted to... had to, I don't know!" Harry looked at Duo. "I do have family, an aunt, her husband, and my cousin but I hate them. I never want to see them again. They resented me for having to take me in when my parents died and locked me in the cupboard under the stairs for most of my childhood. They called me a freak and said I was unnatural and I believed it. I believed it for so long."

Duo sat quietly, staring intently at Harry, looking for any trace of a lie in his face.

"When I turned eleven I got to leave for a bordering school and it was great! I made friends and found out, I wasn't a freak. There were others like me! I made the best friends in the world who stood by me through everything. We fought together in the war and they accepted me for me."

He looked Duo in the eye. "So I lied. I lied about my name and about growing up. But I don't want to lie to you anymore. Duo I lov—"

Harry abruptly stopped talking as he realized what he was about to blurt out. Did he really love Duo? He'd spent nearly every single day for the last six months with the older man. Even if they weren't working they were together. They went out for dinner and Duo encouraged Harry to try new things and "live outside the box." He was kind and funny and fiercely protective. Everyday Harry spent with him was happy and perfect and honestly, Harry was having trouble remembering how he'd managed to live without the other man by his side. So yes, Harry did love Duo. But was he ready to admit it out loud?

Harry sniffed, looking down at his hands. Duo watched him with a blank expression. The part of him that wasn't pissed at Harry's lies was amused. Of course Harry was in love with him; Duo had figured that out a while ago but had respectfully not said anything while the teen figured it out for himself.

On Duo's part, he knew he had fallen in love at some point to. Every moment he wasn't with Harry, he was thinking of him. He was jealous when others got too close and worried more than he should whenever he let Harry go on a mission alone. The boy was shy socially but didn't hold back when on a mission. He was smart and funny and made the most adorable face when confused or angry. Sometimes Duo would say something smart just to make the teen pout and he could smile at his face. He was beautiful and kind and Duo was in love with him too.

But to find out that Harry had been lying to him all this time was a hard pill to swallow. He may have had his reasons but that didn't make it hurt any less. Duo wasn't going to treat him any differently because he was abused growing up. He wasn't going to think less of him. But, he admitted to himself, at the time Harry didn't know that and now that he did, he was choosing to tell Duo the truth. And Duo of all people could understand the desire to run away from who you were. For a year after he and Heero had broken up, Duo had run away from himself by getting involved in meaningless flings and relationships that had nearly ended in his death.

Harry glanced up at his partner who hadn't said a single word. He could feel tears burn his eyes and he prayed he hadn't just ruined the best relationship he'd ever had.

"Is there anything else?" Duo asked coldly. "Anymore secrets?"

"Yes."

Duo scowled and made a gesture with his hand.

"My parents weren't killed in a car accident, they were murdered. Two years ago, I hunted down the man who do it and killed him. Because he was an insane homicidal manic, I wasn't punished. I wasn't even tried. Most people were actually really happy I did it."

Duo ran a hand through his hair. "Shit kid... anything else?"

"Um... I'm a troublemaker. I usually get into trouble when left alone too long."

Duo snorted. "You call that secret?"

Harry really wanted to tell him about magic but knew there was no way to do that without getting them both into trouble. Some secrets he would just have to keep, for now.

"I'm rich," Harry added, trying to think of everything. "My parents left me a pretty big fortune when they died and my Godfather left me his as well when he passed. So I have a ridiculous amount of money, I'm not sure the exact amount but it's big."

Duo stared at him. "Is that it?"

Harry nodded, looking down at his lap. He fully expected Duo to yell and storm out, maybe even hit him. Harry wouldn't care if he did, he felt like he deserved it.

"When I was younger I held my best friend while he died. I took the name Duo after that so that I could live for both of us."

Harry looked up, surprise on his face.

"My home was destroyed and to get revenge, I learned to be a Gundam Pilot and joined the war as soon I could. I fought every battle like it was my last because, honestly, I wasn't planning on living through it. The last guy I was with before you came along almost killed me but Heero showed up and saved my sorry ass." Duo grabbed Harry's face and pulled him closer. "I also have a ridiculous amount of money but that's because I'm a former terrorist and a thief. And even though I'm pissed off to all hell that you lied to me about _your_ _fucking name... _I'm in love with you too."

Harry's eyes flew wide. "You..."

"Yeah kid, now shut up." Duo kissed him hard and Harry melted against the older man. He felt like he was on cloud nine, like a piece of himself that he didn't know was missing had returned and completed him more than he thought possible. Harry kissed Duo back and they stayed together for a long time until the need to breathe pulled them apart.

"I still have more secrets," Harry whispered.

"So do I," Duo answered. "Let's leave them for later."

Harry nodded and they fell onto the bed together in a tangle of limps. He'd never felt so happy as he drifted off to sleep.

*!*!*

Heero maneuvered through the halls of the hospital at a brisk pace, just short of running. He didn't want to draw the attention of the few workers present so early in the morning which was the only reason he wasn't jogging right now. He considered taking the elevator but instead turned for the stairs. He could climb them faster and he didn't think standing still right now would be good for his nerves.

Very early that morning, Heero had discovered something extremely disconcerting. At Sally's request, he had been searching for the medical files of James Porter's parents, whom James had named Lily and James. The search had taken a long time, as the names were common ones and many options presented themselves, but after two weeks, Heero finally determined that there were no James and Lily Porter with a son also named James that fit his description.

James Porter had lied.

After discovering this, Heero went back and checked Porter's application for the Preventers. It was a perfect fake. At first, even second, glance, there was absolutely nothing wrong. It was a legal document, it contained a birth certificate and identification number, and even had letters of recommendations from people in James' life who the boy had mentioned once or twice in passing. It was such an amazing forgery that Heero began to doubt his suspicions.

He was about to admit he was wrong when Heero had had a thought. He managed to track down the creation date of the file and discovered it had been created ten months ago, exactly one week before James joined the Preventers. The file may have been perfect, but that date proved it was a master forgery.

Now Heero was hurrying to the room where the three trainees were and hoping that Duo was okay. His friend had spent the night at the hospital with his partner. The last time someone Duo cared about had lied, Duo nearly ended up dead. Heero had been forced to break his no-killing vow to protect him. Even though that moment haunted Heero's dreams, he was absolutely certain he would kill to save Duo again.

Even if it was someone he himself cared for.

Heero entered the room, drawing his gun but keeping it pointed down. He took two steps and stopped at the foot of Porter's –or whoever he was— bed. Heero stared for a moment, his heart still racing, at the serene picture. Duo and James were wrapped together with James's head tucked under Duo's chin. The younger boy was sound asleep, a smile on his face. Duo's eyes popped open and he blinked the sleep away, raising an eyebrow when he spotted Heero standing there with his gun drawn.

Heero jerked his head towards the door and Duo carefully slid out from under James to follow him. They stood out in the hall and didn't speak until the single nurse working turned the corner.

"What's going on?" Duo asked.

Heero hid his gun before answering. "I've discovered that James Porter is not who he says he is."

Duo frowned. "What have you found?"

"Next to nothing," Heero admitted. "I could not find any records of his parents using the names he provided and I've determined his information in the Preventer data base is false."

To Heero's surprise, Duo merely nodded. "His real name is Harry," Duo informed him. "His middle name is James and I doubt Porter is his real last name."

"When did you discover this?"

"He told me last night. Spilled his guts on a lot of things but not all of it."

Heero frowned, not liking the news. He watched Duo carefully, noticing how his friend did not appear as upset as Heero expected.

"He's running away from something," Duo muttered. "That's why he changed his name when he joined up."

"You are too attached."

Duo smirked. "I thought you wanted me to find someone nice to settle down with."

Heero glared and Duo looked at his best friend seriously.

"I'm in love with him. I know he's lying to me but I also know he's got a reason for doing it. And until I find out the truth, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. He's a good kid and I don't want to screw it up unless I have to."

"I do not want you to get hurt."

Duo smiled, a genuine smile, and reached out for Heero. His friend stiffed when he placed a hand on his shoulder and bumped their foreheads together.

"You won't have to kill anyone for me ever again, Heero, I promise. I'll be careful this time." Duo moved away after he was sure Heero understood the message. "Is the stuff with him being Trowa's brother legit?"

"Sally Po's DNA tests are accurate. DNA can not be faked and because she did the tests herself, without passing them to anyone or entering them into the computer, they could not be tampered with."

Duo nodded. "So no matter who James –or rather, Harry- really is or what he's hiding, he's going to be in our lives. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt before we go throwing him out for forging identities."

Heero was not sure he liked this plan. He admitted that part of him was relieved that James was not an enemy but a much larger part of him was also worried that letting someone who was a known liar and possible threat around those he called family was dangerous. He did not like the thought of his friends getting hurt, especially Duo. Trowa would have Quatre to lean on if things went badly but Duo would be left alone again.

"Everything's going to be fine Heero," Duo said, turning and opening the door. "I'm going to trust my instincts on this one. Everything's going to be okay."

* * *

**A/N: Most of you guessed already why Trowa doesn't have a ring since he's older but Harry does. It'll be explained next chapter. I'm really excited (and nervous) to hear your thoughts on Harry telling Duo his name and Duo's reaction to it.**

**Okay, I'm ready to be done with all the secrets. I'm ready for magic to be revealed and the whole truth to come out. I think I've finally worked out how I want the scene to go down and I'm going to aim for it to happen in two-three chapters. We'll see how it goes.**

**Thanks to everyone who wished me luck at my convention. I made a lot of money and had so much fun. The highlight was definitely getting to meet Quinton Flynn and getting his autograph. His Q and A panel was a lot of fun.**

**So please review everyone! Let me know what you think and, as always, make sure to ask any questions or point out any possible mistakes I made. Thank you!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Date Posted: April 24, 2015**

**A/N: Okay, this is the chapter eighteen hump. All my stories die at chapter eighteen. If I can get past it, then I'm practically guaranteed to finish a fic! **

**So this chapter is fun. Some Duo/Harry and Harry/Trowa bonding moments. I also believe this chapter will answer the last of everyone's questions. Let me know if there's something you're still confused about.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Eighteen:**

Harry was siting crossed legged on Ron's hospital bed, dressed in his street clothes. Sally Po had officially released him from the hospital but was Ron was still "held prisoner" as he called it. Because she wasn't able to get a clear scan of him, the Doctor was refusing to let the redhead leave until she was certain he was fully healed. Hermione was sitting in a chair next to the bed, her feet propped up and shoes sitting on the floor. The image of his friend sitting so improperly made Harry smile despite the glare she was currently leveling at him.

"You shouldn't have told Duo your name. You're going to get into so much trouble."

Harry shrugged. "He was going to find out sooner or later, I just decided to make it sooner."

"Why's he going to find out?" Ron asked.

Harry looked at him. "Well I doubt Trowa will keep quiet when I tell him everything."

Hermione sat up quickly. "Why would you tell Trowa anything?"

"He's my brother Hermione! What am I going to do? _Not_ tell him about his family and his heritage?"

The girl conceded the point and relaxed again, still scowling slightly. "When are you going to tell him?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure. Him and Quatre are picking me up in a few minutes and we're going to have lunch together." Harry's face betrayed how nervous he was about that. "I think I'm going to talk to Kingsley before telling him about magic and wizards. There's probably a protocol to follow when telling muggles about us, right?"

"There is," Ron confirmed. "They have to swear an oath of secrecy and fill out a bunch of paperwork as well register with the Ministry. It's really just a lot of paperwork stating who is being told what and by who and why."

"Sounds like a blast."

"Hey, speaking of Kingsley, have either or you talked to him?" Ron asked.

"Oh yeah," Harry muttered. "I half expected him to be here waiting for us when we woke up."

Hermione looked thoughtful. "I spoke to him briefly yesterday but it was strange. He seemed so distracted and worn out. Things are not going well with the Veela."

"Obviously, if they're attacking me," Harry pointed out.

"Oh! That reminds me..." Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled out Ron and Harry's magic bracelets that the trio shared and their wands. "I had to take these off as soon as you got here to hide them and forgot to give them back."

They each took their bracelet and slipped it back, smiling when the stones lit up, as if happy to be back with their proper owners. Harry pocketed his wand while Ron slipped his under his pillow.

"We got very lucky that Duo stopped Sally from trying to cut off your engagement ring, Harry. It would have caused a lot of trouble if they found out your ring can't be destroyed."

Harry nodded in agreement, glancing down at the band. "So do we know anything about the Veelas who attacked us?"

"Actually yes, and it's because of your ring." Hermione gestured at his hand. "A Veela engagement ring makes it nearly impossible for the person wearing it to harm a member of the family they are engaged to. The fact that the ring hurt you and 'fizzled' out your magic must mean the two Veelas who attacked you are directly related to whomever you are currently engaged to."

Harry frowned as he twirled the ring around his finger. "I uh, don't actually know who that is."

Hermione sighed. "Do you want to know?"

Harry grumbled but waved his hand, giving permission for his friend to drop what he was sure would be a large bombshell on him.

"Lord Christoph Van Vitrol."

Harry groaned while Ron laughed. Harry glared at him. "I'm sorry, I know it's not funny but... it's kinda funny. I mean, nothing ever happens to you halfway. It's gotten ridiculous."

"Tell me about it." He turned back to Hermione. "So if Lord Christoph is sending his family to attack me, why isn't anyone doing anything about it and why do I have this stupid ring on my finger?" Harry paused and sat up straighter. "Wait, why do _I_ have the ring? Why doesn't Trowa? He's supposed to be older and the oldest child fulfills the contract, right?"

"Firstly, the ring makes you an easy target because you can't fight back. As for why you were attacked you in the first place, I don't know. It could be they were after you, it could be you were in the wrong place at the wrong time and they attacked without knowing who you were. We don't actually know why they were at that town. As for why no one is doing anything about, there's no proof. It's your word against his. Accusing Lord Christoph of something like this without hard evidence would cause a huge scandal and undermine everything Kingsley's done so far."

"Of course it would, because politics." Harry ran a hand through his hair.

"As for why you have the ring instead of Trowa, the only reason I can summarize is because Trowa isn't a Potter. He's Lily's son, not James's, so he's not part of the contract. Whoever Trowa's real father is obviously never had a contract with Veelas so he has no ring."

Harry was relieved by that. He didn't want to think what would happen if Trowa got caught up in this Veela crisis.

"So what if I go have a 'talk' with Lord Christoph?" Harry asked, ideas dancing in his head.

Ron sat forward with a wicked a grin. "An _unofficial_ talk?"

Hermione scowled at her friends. "Stop it, both you. You can not attack the Veela ruler. We can't do anything until the end of the month. On the thirty-first the temporary treaty Kingsley signed is going to expire and the rings will disappear. Once that happens, Harry you'll be free to fight with your full power again. That's when we'll figure out what our next move should be."

"So two and half weeks?" Harry muttered, looking at the obnoxious silver band wrapped around his ring finger.

Hermione nodded. "Until then, we'll stay here in the muggle world and lay low. Keep looking for the mystery person who's hiring wizards to expose magic and maybe try and figure why the Veela were at that town. There's a possibility they were working with him."

Harry and Ron nodded in agreement just as the door opened. Trowa walked in with Quatre, both in their street clothes. Harry smiled and suddenly felt nervous. He was excited to spend the day with the other two but was also worried. He had only ever been on missions with Trowa and besides some awkward conversations, they really hadn't spent much personal time together.

"Hey Quatre," Ron greeted. He nodded at Trowa and Hermione quickly sat up in her seat, reaching for her shoes.

"Hello Arthur. Oh, no, Jean, please, relax. Don't feel the need to be formal on our account," Quatre said quickly to Hermione. He flashed the girl a smile. "It is actually quite a pleasant surprise to see you sitting down and taking break. Sally often worries you'll work yourself too hard."

Hermione frowned in annoyance. "I've told her before, just because I take my work seriously does not mean I don't know how to relax."

Quatre held his hands up defensive. "I'm simply saying you don't need to get up on our account."

Harry laughed at the conversation before jumping from the bed. He turned to Ron. "Don't worry about anything, focus on getting healed, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Ron held out his fist and Harry bumped it, secretly amused by how much Ron loved the muggle gesture. He then turned to Hermione and placed a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Keep an eye on him, okay?"

Hermione whispered into his ear. "One on him and one on you, always."

Harry laughed and joined the two at the door. "Ready?"

They nodded and said farewell before leaving. As soon as they were outside, Harry stretched and took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of freedom. Quatre smiled at him.

"Happy to be out?"

Harry grinned. "You have no idea." He glanced around. "Do you guys have any plans for today?"

"I thought we could start with lunch and just play things by ear," Quatre answered. "There's a restaurant a few blocks from here that's good, if you don't mind walking."

"I'm fine with that." Harry actually preferred it that way. He had been cooped up in the hospital all day yesterday and had some restless energy to burn.

Quatre led the way as they walked and Harry glanced at the two. "So how much did Duo tell you?" he asked, no accusation in his voice.

Trowa glanced at him. "Your name." Harry nodded, having expected that. "He said something about money."

Harry snorted. "Yeah, I've got plenty. I guess you're entitled to it, if you want."

Trowa merely shrugged dismissively at the offer. Between Quatre's company and his secret bank accounts from when he was a mercenary, money held no importance to him.

"He said you have an aunt."

Harry scowled. "Petunia Dursley, my mum's sister. I don't know where she lives now, I haven't spoken to her in almost three years. I can give you her last address if you want to track her down but I don't recommend it. She's a pretty nasty woman and her husband is even worse. They are your family though, technically, so you have every right to meet them, just don't expect a warm welcome."

"Why don't you get along?" Quatre asked.

Harry just shook his head, not wanting to get into details. "We just don't."

"Why did her name not come up in the FRA if she was our mother's sister?" Trowa asked.

Harry paused and blinked. He hadn't thought of that. Hermione must have changed Petunia and Dudley's information thoroughly enough that Trowa didn't get a match from them. He glanced at the two before looking forward again.

"I'm not sure."

Quatre and Trowa traded looks but decided not to press the issue. As they lapsed into silence, Harry gathered his courage for his next question. "So how much trouble am I in for lying?"

"Oh quite a bit," Quatre assured him pleasantly. "But because of your relationship with Duo and Trowa, Heero's agreed not to arrest you. Needless to say, you are suspended from work until further notice."

Harry scowled. He had really hoped that wouldn't happen but obviously it would. It would be up to Ron now to keep working directly with the Preventers. Maybe Harry could investigate on his own a little bit and try and find something.

But he would worry about that later. For now, Harry turned to Trowa with a curious face. "So tell me about you. I know you guys fought in the war with Duo, but what about before that?"

Trowa shrugged uncomfortably. "Before the war I was a mercenary with no name. I took the name Trowa when I received my Gundam."

"You didn't have a name?" Harry asked in confusion. "Is that... how does that happen?"

"When I was a child most called me Nanashi, which roughly means 'without name'. I had no memory of myself so I did not have anything to correct them with." Trowa was uncomfortable with the large, sad eyes his brother was looking at him with. Quatre used to stare at him the same way, as if he wished he cold travel back in time and rescue Trowa from his troubled childhood.

Harry seemed to realize his staring was making Trowa uncomfortable and quickly turned forward. They arrived at the restaurant and Harry was glad to see that it was a rather small pizzeria. He had been worried that with Quatre's tastes they would end up at some fancy dining establishment that wouldn't let them in without a coat and tie. But this place was small with wooden tables and an open kitchen so you could watch the cooks make your food.

As soon as they walked in a large booming voice called out to Quatre. A man at least twice the blonde's size came storming from the kitchen and wrapped him into a large hug. Harry watched with amusement as Quatre patted his overly large shoulder and politely asked how business was doing. Trowa gestured Harry to a table and they sat, letting Quatre deal with the excited business owner. A tall, skinny woman hurried over to them, a large smile on her face.

"Good morning gentlemen! What can I get you to drink today?"

"Tea would be fine," Harry said.

"Me as well, please. And Quatre will probably like some water."

"Of course, dears, here are some menus and I'll get right to your drinks."

The woman left with a happy skip to her step and Harry smiled, instantly liking the small restaurant. They watched as Quatre politely managed to excuse himself from the large owner and made his way to the table.

"Lovely man, but much too affectionate," Quatre muttered. "Though I'm happy to see this place doing so well. I'm glad I decided to invest in them years ago."

The woman brought their drinks and Harry and Trowa let Quatre order for them. Once she was gone, Quatre looked at Harry.

"So what would you prefer we called you?" Quatre asked. Harry looked at him confused. "Your real name is Harry, but you've been going by James."

"Oh, I hadn't thought about it. I guess I would prefer Harry but not in front of other people. I don't want to explain why I've suddenly changed my name."

"Understandable. Very well then, Harry, Duo mentioned that your parents had been killed and you tracked down their murderer?"

Harry choked on his tea and coughed, completely caught off guard with the casual way Quatre brought up such a touchy subject. The two were staring at him closely and Harry blinked at them.

"He mentioned that, did he?" Harry really couldn't be upset at Duo. He would have told Trowa the truth about their parents deaths eventually, he just didn't want to do it on their first lunch out. "Yeah, they were murdered when I was a year old. That's why I was sent to live with my aunt."

"By who?" Trowa asked quietly.

Harry pushed his tea away. "His name was Tom Marvolo Riddle but he was more commonly known as Lord Voldemort. He was a mass murder who my parents fought against. They were both police officers and had managed to stop him from killing a lot of people, enough so that he took notice. He decided to kill to them, as an example of what would happen to those that defied him." Harry touched the scar on his forehead. "He meant to kill me too, but was stopped before he had a chance."

"Who stopped him?" Trowa asked.

"My mum. My mum died protecting me. No one heard from Voldemort again until he suddenly reappeared when I was fifteen. No one knew where he was or what he had been doing but when he came back, it was terrible. He went on a killing spree. When I was seventeen I managed to track him down, we fought, and I won." Harry shrugged. "And that's it. That was the end of it."

"I highly doubt that is the end of the story," Quatre said gently. Harry shrugged and looked away. It was all the story he was willing to tell at the moment. He knew he was going to have to tell Trowa about the Wizarding World and magic but for right now, he would keep things vague.

"Why did you change you name when joining the Preventers?" Trowa asked.

Harry shrugged. "So no one would know who I was."

"Why is it so important that you hide?" Quatre pressed.

Harry had no answer for him so he just shrugged again. "It just is."

The two frowned, not liking the answer. "What is your real last name?"

Harry reached for his tea and took a sip, staring at the two, slightly annoyed. It wasn't that he was upset with their questions, he was upset that he couldn't answer them. Even the ones he could he had to tell half truths or only give vague responses.

"Potter," Harry finally answered. Trowa was going to know the truth soon enough anyways, there was really no point in lying about it. Harry smiled, "And when you tell Heero, let him know that after I turn eleven I dropped off the face of the Earth. I'll be shocked if he can find anything on me."

The pizza arrived, halting the conversation. Harry was relived when they let the matter drop but he knew it wouldn't be forever. Eventually, Harry would have to tell them the truth about magic and his history. He only hoped that when that day came his relationship with Trowa would be strong enough to survive it.

Just as they finished their first slice two girls came out to the dining room, giggling like mad. They were obviously sisters, with the same chubby cheeks and hazel eyes. The older of the two pushed her sister towards the table, giggling while her sister smacked at her hands, her face red. Eventually they joined arms and walked over to the table, glancing around nervously.

"Um, we just wanted to know how you like your pizza?" the oldest said.

"It's delicious, thank you ladies," Quatre told them, a little confused by their behavior. Harry noticed both of them look at him and their eyes landed on his scar, their mouths opening just slightly as they stared. Mentally, Harry groaned. Was everyone in this damn city a witch?

"Do-do you like it too, sir? My sister made it real special for you."

Harry smiled at the girls. At least they had enough sense to not call him Savior in front of muggles. "Yes, it's some of the best I've ever had."

The girls broke into squeals of delight and clasped their hands together. "Well, we'll leave you three alone. Thank you so much." They left, casting looks over their shoulders and smiling until they returned to the kitchen.

"It seems you have some admirers, Harry," Quatre teased.

Harry glanced at him. "If they only knew I was gay."

The conversation was kept light for the rest of the meal and Trowa and Harry waited outside while Quatre and the owner entered into a debate about whether or not the blonde should pay. Harry leaned against a bench and glanced over at Trowa, who was watching traffic.

"I have a Godson," Harry said abruptly. Trowa looked at him. "He's only three and lives with his grandmother. He's really smart too. And I know, I'm biased and everyone says their kid is smart, but he really is. Gets it from his dad, who was a Professor." Trowa nodded and Harry smiled. "You should meet him sometime."

"I'm not very good with children." Despite working in the circus as a clown, Trowa had little to no experience with kids. He handed out balloons when the ring master told him to and let Cathy handle the rest.

"Me neither, but Teddy's different. He's special."

Trowa hesitated before speaking. "I have an... adopted sister. She took great care of me during the war and I keep in touch with her regularly. I have not told her about you yet but when I do, she will demand to meet you."

Harry smiled. "Does she live nearby?"

"No, she is in space."

Harry nodded. "I've never been to space. It would be fun to go and see it someday."

"It is a beautiful place. Although I enjoy living on Earth, I miss being among the stars."

Quatre walked out of the restaurant then, looking satisfied. "He refused to let me pay so I left his wife a forty pound tip."

Harry laughed. "Nice thinking." He would have to remember that for the next time someone insisted "The Savior" shouldn't pay for his meal. "So, where to next?"

*!*!*

When Duo picked Harry up from his apartment the next morning, the teen wasn't sure how to greet him. He knew that Duo was still mad but had mostly forgiven him for the lies. What Harry wanted to do was reach out and give him a hug, maybe even a kiss, in greeting.

"Hey," Harry said awkwardly. He jerked forward as if he were going to hug the other man but stopped halfway through. His face turned red with embarrassment while Duo rolled his eyes.

"Hey yourself," he greeted and wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders, pulling him out of the apartment. Harry sighed in relief.

"So not that I'm complaining," Harry dared to asked. "But why are you being so cool about me lying?"

Duo pressed the button for the elevator and they climbed on. "My whole life I've dealt with liars and cheats but you're the only liar I've met who regrets its. I figure that must mean you're not naturally a liar and you've got a reason for it. So until I find out that reason, I'm going to give you a chance."

Harry started to smile but was startled when Duo suddenly shoved him against the wall, placing a hand over his head and using his body to pin him.

"But kid, I'm not going to wait forever. My patience will eventually run out."

Harry nodded and glanced away, a little overwhelmed by Duo's intense gaze. His eyes caught sight of the ring on his finger and Harry stared at it, hating the stupid piece of silver. He knew it was just temporary and meant nothing but it felt like he was cheating on Duo by wearing the ring.

"Give me two and half weeks," Harry said. "I'll tell you what I'm running from then."

"That's oddly specific," Duo muttered. "Why not just tell me now?"

Harry didn't answer as he smiled up at his boyfriend. Telling Duo now that he was engaged would probably destroy the fragile remains of their relationship. Once the ring was gone, Harry would tell him the truth about the Marriage Contracts and, hopefully, be allowed to tell him about the magical world. He really wasn't sure how any of this was going to go. As it was, he was planning on telling the very people who weren't supposed to find out about magic, about magic. Harry really hoped that Kingsley would be available to talk today, he really needed his older friend's help and advice.

The elevator dinged open but before Duo could move away, Harry grabbed his collar and pulled him in for a deep kiss. He didn't understand how every time they kissed felt as intense as the first time and left him lightheaded and full of pleasure. The doors started to close again but Duo kicked out, catching his foot in between them and making them open again.

"Let's go," Duo smirked, amused by how Harry seemed dazed by a kiss _he_ initiated.

Happy, Harry followed after the braided man and jumped into the passenger seat of Duo's car. "Where are we going, anyways?"

"You have a meeting with Heero."

Harry whipped around so fast his neck cracked. He groaned and rubbed it, glaring at Duo. "I thought you said we were hanging out."

Duo just shrugged, a smug smile on his face. "I lied."

Harry scowled and crossed his arms, relaxing into the seat. "He's going to be so pissed."

"Yeah, he sure is. Wish I could see it."

Harry blinked and looked at Duo with wide eyes. "You're not coming?"

"Nope."

"It's just going to be me and Heero?"

Duo shrugged, trying hard not to burst into laughter. "Wufei might be there too."

Harry suddenly reached for the door handle but Duo hit the lock button before he could get out. The teen scowled deeply and crossed his arms while Duo finally gave into the urge to laugh.

*!*!*

Hermione finished typing up her patient notes and leaned back in her chair. She stared at the screen, lost in thought. Very soon she knew she would be leaving this job and she wanted to make absolutely sure her patients were well cared for when she did. Hermione made sure her notes were thorough and all her thoughts and assumptions were typed up completely so that whoever took over for her would know where she left off. Over the next few weeks she would take on less and less new patients and start to discharge or switch her current ones. The blonde was sad to realize her time as a doctor was coming to an end but she was also excited to get back to her home.

In the pit of her stomach, Hermione knew their mission would end on the thirty-first. The moment that ring disappeared, Harry would spill all his secrets to Duo and the others. The only thing Hermione wasn't sure of was Kingsley. She had no idea if the Minister would give them permission to tell the Preventers about magic or about their mission. She also had no idea if Harry cared or not. Sure, she knew Harry would _ask_ permission, but if Kingsley said no, she was fairly certain her friend wouldn't listen and spill his guts anyway.

Hermione stared at the small compact mirror on the desk next to her. To muggles, it was an ordinary vanity mirror, to wizards who knew the password it was a communication device connected directly to Kingsley. Hermione had tried contacting the Minister numerous times over the last few days but had only managed to speak with him once and very briefly. She had relayed to him the fight with the Veelas but had been extremely confused when Kingsley had panicked. She had never seen the man panic before. Hermione tried to ask what they should do next but Kingsley had cut the communication before she got a chance. She hadn't heard from him since.

Hermione was debating about finishing early and going to spend more time with Ron when Sally came in, her face set in a scowl. She was looking at images of an MRI scan and shaking her head.

"Is everything okay, Sally?" Hermione asked.

The woman sat down in the chair next to her's and tossed the open files on the desk. "My machines are working just fine."

Confused, Hermione picked up the folder and looked at the images. They were blurry and difficult to read. "Was the person unable to hold still?"

"No, he was fine," Sally grumbled. "I don't understand it. I've never come across this type of thing before but now I've found three individuals who can't be scanned properly."

Hermione glanced at the patient name and noticed these were Ron's scans. She flipped through them while Sally continued to talk.

"At first I thought it was a family thing, because Porter and Trowa are related, but Arthur has no relation to them at all. And it's not the machine because Kron's scan came out just fine and he fidgeted more than any of the other three ever had."

Hermione didn't comment, wondering how long it would take Sally to realize she had just spilled the beans on what was supposed to be a secret relationship between Harry and Trowa. Both had agreed to not tell anyone until they were more comfortable around each other.

It didn't take long as Sally's chatter faded off and she glanced at her assistant. "No one is supposed to know what I just said."

Hermione smiled. "I understand. If it helps any, I already knew."

"What?"

"James came to me with the DNA results, asking me to explain the science behind it. I gave my word I wouldn't say anything to anyone."

Sally nodded and frowned at the scans in Hermione's hands. "Well I don't know what to do about these. I suppose we can release Windborne. You'll have to keep an eye on him, just in case."

"Me?"

Sally sent the girl a knowing look. "Well you are dating, aren't you?"

Hermione turned red. "How-how did you...?"

Sally laughed. "Oh please. The way you've fawned over him while he's been sick, and you've spent nearly every free moment in his room. It's obvious to anyone with two eyes and a brain."

Hermione turned bright red but didn't bother denying it. If Harry could start telling everyone his secrets then she could let a few select people in on her's too.

"Well I promise to keep a close eye on him."

"I'll bet," Sally teased. She sighed and took the folders back. "I wish I could figure out why they can't get a normal scan."

Hermione shrugged but pondered the question in herself. The only theory she could come up with was their magic. Magic had a tendency to interfere with technology if the tech was exposed to it for too long at one time. Perhaps the machine couldn't work properly because Harry and Ron were powerful wizards. If that were true, then it would imply that Trowa also possessed magic, though to a much lesser degree than most. Hermione wished she could run a few tests and explore her theory more but knew that was impossible under the circumstances. Maybe someday though.

"I think I'll ask Heero to get me Windborne parent's medical files. Maybe there is a connection there I'm missing."

Hermione didn't answer. Part of her wanted to try and convince Sally not to look for the files but the other part didn't care. Their mission was nearly over and Hermione no longer had the dedication or patience to keep lying and hiding themselves. Let Sally ask for the files and let Heero discover there weren't any. In the end, none of it would matter when the truth came out.

!*!*!

Ron slurped his tea, smiling when Iien glared at him across the table. Both had been released from the hospital the previous day and now they sat in the meeting room, filling out paperwork at Heero's insistence. They were both writing their versions of the mission down into the official records. After having confessed what he saw to Duo, Iien hadn't mentioned it again. He seemed to realize that saying he saw bird people was insane and didn't want to draw attention to himself in a negative way.

Ron had lost all respect for the other man. Even though Iien refused to talk about what he saw, he was still scared. He looked at Ron and Harry like they were some sort of creatures themselves. He only spoke to them when forced to and was always uncomfortable in their presence. Harry had gotten sick of the attitude and moved in with Hermione, as Ron already had a roommate.

Ron slurped again and Iien stopped typing to glare. The redhead just smirked and lifted his tea cup.

"Nice day, right Kron?"

Iien didn't answer as he focused on his screen again. Ron wondered if all muggles were like Iien. If magic was revealed, would they all look at wizards with such fear?

"Are you finished, Arthur?" Quatre asked, leaning over to look at the completed form. Trowa was next to Iien, waiting for him to finish.

Ron glanced at his blonde friend and nodded, pushing the laptop to him wordlessly. He was pretty sure Quatre would be okay with magic; he would have to be if he wanted to keep seeing Trowa. But in the back of his mind, Ron was worried. It really was impossible to know how anyone would react to such life-altering news. Before this, Ron would have bet money that an easy going, kind guy like Iien wouldn't have treated them differently if he knew the truth. Was it possible that Quatre would be the same? Would Harry telling Trowa the truth ruin Trowa and Quatre's relationship?

Ron truly hoped it wouldn't. He really liked Quatre and had come to look up to him. He broke all of Ron's preconceived notions that those who were raised rich were spoiled, horrible people. He was kind and patient and was always there to help Ron with anything. After he returned from seeing George in the hospital, Quatre had made himself available to talk. He listened without judging and offered Ron advice that really helped him through a hard time. Quatre had been there for him when Ron couldn't be with his own family and he was eternally grateful for that.

"Did you need anything else?" Ron asked, standing.

"No that was all. The task force has temporarily been suspended while we deal with, uh... other pressing matters. I'll keep you updated but until then, you'll be assigned in the Strategy and Development department with other trainees."

Ron nodded. "I understand, thank you, Quatre."

As Ron left, he glanced over his shoulder. He understood Harry's desire to tell these people the truth but he also understood the problems it would cause. As the door shut Ron hoped that, when Quatre found out everything, he wouldn't be like Iien. He hoped that the blonde would accept them, _all_ of them, and find a way to forgive their deceit. The thought of losing his friend was a scary one.

The thought of being the one to have to wipe Quatre's memory was downright terrifying.

*!*!*

Duo plopped down in a chair in Heero and Wufei's shared flat. The two owned the entire building and lived on the third floor. No one occupied the other floors and it was an unspoken arrangement in the group that if any of them needed a place to go, the first two floors were for them.

The apartment was sparsely decorated, as expected. Bookshelves lined the walls filled with thick tomes. A few Chinese decorations were scattered about the room but none held any real value. They were mostly small trinkets Duo and Quatre had bought as house warming gifts when the couple moved in. The place was kept perfectly neat without a single thing out of place.

Currently the group was sitting at the kitchen table. Wufei prepared and served tea, as his customs dictated. When he was done he sat and only Quatre took a sip, to be polite.

"So why are meeting here instead of HQ?" Duo asked.

"I did not want to risk being overheard," Heero stated.

"By who?"

"What's this about, Heero?" Quatre asked.

Heero glanced at Wufei, who nodded. "We have a theory and wanted to discuss it privately. It will not be easy for you to hear."

Immediately, Duo knew what they wanted to talk about. Trowa figured it out as well as he shifted uncomfortably.

"What have you found?" Trowa asked.

Heero answered, "We have confirmed his story that until eleven years of age, Harry Potter lived with his Aunt Petunia Dursley and her husband Vernon. Petunia Dursley is Lily Potter's blood sister and has a file in the FRA."

"Did she come up as a match for Trowa?" Duo asked.

"No," Wufei said. "We did not know about her until Potter told us. When we managed to track her down, we went back over her files in the FRA to try and discover why she didn't appear. Her files, along with those of her husband and son's, were modified. The DNA results were altered to ensure their would be no relation discovered between Harry Potter and the Dursley family."

"This is why they did not appear as a match for Trowa."

"Do we know who modified them?" Quatre asked. "Harry's smart but he's not very talented with computers."

"The person who changed the file was the one who entered them, Jean Gardner. She is also the one who entered James Porter's information into the FRA."

"Sally's assistant?" Trowa asked in surprise. "How is she connected to this?"

"They're friends," Duo said. "Harry's been living with her because he and Kron had a falling out."

"So you two believe Jean changed these files at Harry's request?" Quatre asked.

The two exchanged looks and the other three sat forward. "Heero? Wufei?" Quatre prompted. "What is it?"

"After investigating we have determined that Jean Gardner's application to the Preventers is a forgery."

Their eyes widened in shock at the news.

"The forgery is of the same caliber as Potter's," Wufei continued. "It also has the same flaw. The creation date is exactly one week before she joined the Preventers."

"After we discovered this, we began to investigate her and Arthur Windborne, who is strongly connected to Gardner and Potter."

"Arthur?" Quatre exclaimed. "As in _my_ trainee Arthur?"

Wufei nodded. "His file is faked as well. We have investigated all others surrounding the three but all of them check out. It is only these three who have faked their identities."

"So what do you think is going on?" Trowa asked quietly.

"We believe they are spies."

Duo hit the table and leaned back in his chair, scowling deeply. Trowa stared down at the table while Quatre slipped their hands together.

"Do you have any proof?"

"All three have shown skill and promise beyond that of normal trainees. They have all lied about their identities and their relationships with each other. They do not exist in any known database other than the fake files for the Preventers."

"They all talk the same," Quatre added softly, his eyes unfocused. Heero turned to him with a questioning face. "I've heard them all say the word 'Merlin' at one point or another. I remembered because it was strange."

"You know," Duo muttered. "On his first mission, the guy we arrested called Harry by his real name. He also called him Savior. I shrugged it off at the time and honestly forgot about it."

"The evidence is clear," Wufei declared. "These three are spies."

"The evidence is circumstantial," Duo argued. "They might just be some kids running away from something."

"I would like to believe that too," Quatre said. "But it doesn't make a lot of sense."

"If they were running from something, they wouldn't be trying to advance in the Preventers," Trowa pointed out. "If you're trying to hide, you wouldn't succeed so impressively and draw attention to yourself like they have."

Duo glanced at him. "He's your brother."

Trowa stared at his friend. "And he's your boyfriend."

"Exactly. You know the trouble he'll get in if he's a spy? That's not something we can just let go, regardless of our relationships with him."

"I have no desire to see him in trouble either but we can't ignore this. It's not the same as lying about his past. If he is a spy we need to know why and for who."

"You of all people should be more forgiving considering what you did during the war," Duo snapped.

Trowa glared but it was Heero who answered. "That was different."

"How?"

"He was on our side."

Duo rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat. He drummed his fingers on the table, looking at his friends seriously.

"I admit, the possibility that these three are spies is pretty strong, _but_," he sat forward, "you have to admit that they haven't done a single thing to hurt us. They haven't hindered us in anyway, they haven't attempted to steal from us, all they've really done is sit quietly and follow orders."

"Which opens the question, is if they are spies, what are they after? Like Duo said, they haven't hurt us or tried to steal anything," Quatre mused.

"We should confront them," Heero stated. Wufei nodded in agreement.

"No." Both Trowa and Duo spoke at the same time. They glanced at each other and Duo shrugged, letting Trowa speak first.

"Harry is my brother," he explained. "I have not come to fully understand what that means but I do know I do not wish to lose him. I'm worried that if we confront them outright, they will run."

"We can not let them simply do what they please," Wufei argued. "If he truly cares about you then he will not run away."

Trowa didn't look convinced. Duo spoke again. "Let's wait," he suggested. "Harry's told me more than once that he'll spill everything on the first of the month. He keeps asking me to wait until then."

"That could mean whatever their plan is will happen before then," Heero argued. "It's too dangerous to leave to chance."

Duo glared and met his best friend's gaze. "You trained him for _months_. Do you honestly believe he's a bad person?"

"Arthur isn't," Quatre put in. "No one who is evil would take such good care of their younger roommate. He has a good heart."

"Let's give them chance," Duo pleaded. "Let's wait until the end of the month and see if Harry comes forward on his own. If he doesn't, we'll get all three of them in one go."

Everyone turned to Heero who stared hard at Duo and Trowa. All his training was screaming at him to not compromise. They were known spies and possible threats. He had enough evidence to bring them in and find out the truth. But the part of him that cared about his friends made him hesitate. Heero didn't want Duo or Trowa to suffer. Things would be easier on them if Harry and his friends told them truth without any coherence.

"Fine," Heero finally agreed. "We'll have one of us with them at all times. If at any point one of them vanishes, the other two are to be brought in immediately."

"Sally will need to be told," Quatre said. "She works very closely with Jean."

Heero nodded sharply in agreement.

"He'll tell us the truth," Duo insisted. "I believe in this kid. He may by a spy, but he's a good person."

"For your sake, I hope you're right," Wufei muttered.

* * *

**A/N: When I say I'm ready for the secrets to be over, I mean it. I'm ninety percent sure that next chapter is when they spill the beans about magic.**

**I enjoyed writing the two scenes at the end with Ron and Hermione. I wanted to show what they were thinking about the whole situation and Harry's choice to tell everything. I also wanted to throw in the stuff with Kingsley attacking strange. And having the five figure out the trio were spies was pretty fun. Duo is pretty desperate to believe in Harry. I hope he doesn't get his heart broken.**

**So help me get over the chapter eighteen hump guys! Please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Date Posted: April 27th 2015**

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews last chapter. All the ways you encouraged me to get over the deadly chapter eighteen hump made me laugh. My boyfriend saw some of them and exclaims, you have fans! I just shook my head and said no, there's just a bunch of people who enjoy reading my stuff. He gives me this look and explains really slowly, that's what a fan is. I kinda turned red and didn't know what to say to that.**

**Here's the next chapter, enjoy!**

**Chapter Nineteen:**

Today was the first day Harry had to himself in the fourteen days since he had told the Preventers his real name. Ever since then, someone had always been with him. Normally it was Duo or Trowa, but Hermione and Ron had taken to keeping tabs on Harry too. He understood why his brother and boyfriend were following him, they were worried about his secrets and that he would just vanish without a trace. Harry wasn't sure what Ron and Hermione's problem was. He assumed they were worried he would do or say something reckless and wanted to be nearby, just in case.

But today the Preventers all had work to worry about, Hermione had been called to the hospital for an emergency, and Ron was sent on a mission with some other trainees to get more field time. All of this lead to Harry finally being able to go to the Ministry and speak with Kingsley.

Despite all three of them attempting to contact the Minister, he had not returned any of their calls. A single letter had appeared on all of their pillows one morning in Kingsley's neat handwriting ordering them to stay in the muggle world and not return to the magical one for security reasons. The trio had no idea what that meant but had followed orders... until today.

Harry was currently sitting under his invisibility cloak in front of Kingsley's office. In two days the temporary contract Kingsley had signed would expire and the engagement rings would vanish from everyone's fingers. In two days, Harry wanted to tell Duo and Trowa and everyone else the truth about the magical world and himself. The only thing still weighing on Harry's mind was the fact that he didn't have permission from the Minister to do it. Harry knew that he would tell Trowa the truth, no matter what, but he really wanted clearance for Duo. Telling Duo the truth without permission could cause a lot of trouble and Harry would rather avoid that.

The door to the office finally opened and Harry didn't waste the opportunity. He snuck inside while a group of politicians hurried out. Harry took a spot in the back of the office by the wall, deciding to wait until everyone left before revealing himself. Only Kingsley, Percy, and Adele were left.

"Are you sure the treaty is solid?" Kingsley asked. "You checked and double checked the wording? I don't want them worming their way out of the deal because of a technicality."

Harry stared at Kingsley, worried for his friend. The man looked thin and dark circles were clearly visible under his eyes.

"Yes, I've gone over every word with our lawyers," Percy assured. "The only part we haven't proofed is whatever secret deal you're brokering."

Harry raised an eyebrow, surprised both by how venomously Percy spoke and that Kingsley had some sort of secret deal no one was privy to.

"I'm still fighting that," Kingsley sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I won't reveal it to anyone until it is absolutely certain."

"I can help," Percy insisted.

The Minister shook his head. "That will be all, Percy. Please, keep preparing for the signing ceremony."

"Yes sir." Percy stood from his seat and left the office without another word. Kingsley turned to Adele once he was gone.

"Is everything ready?"

The woman looked upset but nodded. "I've booked everything under false names and have gone over the security myself. No one will find you."

Harry frowned in worry at her words.

"Very well. I'm taking the rest of the day off. I'll be sending my wife and daughter there tonight. I want them safely away from here before the treaty signing."

"Yes Minister."

Kingsley hung his head, his voice heavy. "Never in all my life have I ever been forced to do something I regret as much as this."

"I wish you would tell me what is going on." Adele reached out, touching his hand. "I've been with you for years now and you have always confided in me. I've always kept your secrets."

"This is not about secrets. This is about the burden of power and the decisions those who have it are forced to make." He hung his head. "Never have I felt so close to Albus Dumbledore." Kingsley shook his head and stood. "I'll be in early tomorrow. If there's any emergency, you know where to contact me."

"Yes sir."

Kingsley threw on his cloak and vanished. Harry growled in frustration but stopped when Adele looked up in confusion. The woman shook her head before leaving the office, spelling it shut behind her. Harry removed his cloak and scowled, walking over to the desk. He left a simple message stating that he really needed to talk to the Minister as soon as possible. Once that was done, Harry donned his cloak again and vanished.

When he reappeared, Harry was standing in the same clearing where he had fought the Veela. He doubted he would find anything anymore but had decided to check, just in case. Harry removed his cloak and shrunk it down to fit in his pocket. The Preventers had been over the area with a fine tooth comb more than once. They had found ashes everywhere that couldn't be identified but Harry knew they were the remains of the wyvern. When a wyvern was killed, it's body burst into flames and was incinerated.

Aside from the ruined trees, there was no evidence of the Veela. No one really believed Iien's story about the bird creatures –Harry wasn't sure Iien really believed it- so the Preventers hadn't been able to identify what creature had done all this damage.

It confused Harry, why the muggles were willing to believe in the wyvern but not the Veela. After all, if you believed in something magical, shouldn't you be willing to believe in all things? But, Harry supposed, there was actual evidence supporting the creature. The claw marks on the trees, the reports filed that lead them to the town in the first place, and the ashes that no one could identify. Harry figured a strange animal was easy to believe in than an animalistic human figure who could throw fireballs and fly.

As Harry wandered around the clearing, the back of his neck began to tingle. He didn't hesitate as he drew his wand and whipped around.

"Show yourself!" he shouted. "I can sense you're here."

The wind rustled some leaves but no one appeared.

"Don't make me come looking," Harry growled. "Neither one of us wants me running around these woods searching for you."

The leaves rustled again, but this time there was no wind. Creatures began to melt from the surrounding area. Harry watched as a tiny group of fairies fluttered into the clearing, dashing around each other almost too fast for him to see. Three small wood nymphs also pranced into the clearing, two girls and one boy. Harry was surprised, as male nymphs were extremely rare and didn't often leave their homes. There were some who didn't even believe male nymphs existed.

As Harry continued to watch, more magical creatures entered the clearing. A small group of Leprechauns were to his left, while a group of pixies appeared above his head. Harry leaned away from them slightly, weary of their trouble making ways. The creatures all spread out in a circle as a single centaur walked forward, his head held high. He was much taller than other centaurs Harry had met in the past and his face and body were covered in scars. His brown fur was showing signs of gray and Harry wandered how old the centaur was.

The last to appear was a short goblin riding on the back of a hippogriff. He carried a long sword (by goblin standards) at his side and was also scared. His beady eyes were gold and his nails sharpened to a deadly point. He sat poised atop the young hippogriff and looked down his nose at everyone present.

Harry relaxed his fighting stance but didn't put his wand away. He looked around at the strange gathering of creatures in confusion.

"Er... hullo. I didn't expect so many of you to appear. My name is Harry Potter."

"We know who you are, Savior," the centaur spoke in a deep voice. "I am Ulivion."

"I am Ragnok of the mighty goblin race," the goblin spoke in a nasally tone. "Why are you here?"

"Almost two weeks ago I was attacked by a wyvern and two Veela in this forest," Harry explained. "I haven't been able to figure out who or why they attacked so I thought to come here to look for clues."

"Are you the one who killed the wyvern?" Ragnok demanded.

Harry stared at him, debating on what he should answer. The goblin sounded angry that the creature was dead but Harry couldn't tell if he actually was or if he always sounded that way.

"No," Harry finally answered. He didn't want to lie to the goblin and start trouble but he also didn't want to give Ron's name, just in case the goblin was upset. "It was one of my companions at the time."

The goblin grinned wickedly, showing pointed teeth stained red. "Good. The creatures are a nuisance."

"All creatures deserve life," the centaur chided. "We must not celebrate their deaths so joyfully."

"They're barely creatures. They bow to the will of the Veela as a house elf to its master. Such weak minded beasts deserve their fate."

"You are too bloodthirsty, goblin Ragnok."

"You are too lenient centaur Ulivion," Ragnok sneered.

"Excuse me," Harry interrupted the two. "But may I ask what all of you are doing here? This forest doesn't have a lot of magic and the town nearby is more muggle than magical. So why are all of you here?"

"For the same reason as you, Savior, we are searching for answers," Ulivion explained. "We have been fighting with the Veela for many moons now and wanted to know why they came to this place."

"Fighting them?" Harry asked in confusion. "Why?"

"Isn't it obvious, stupid wizard?" Ragnok snapped. "We trying to stop their plans! Your ministry has turned a blind eye to their activities so we've had to step in to protect ourselves, like usual."

Harry scowled at the goblin. "What are the Veela doing?"

"They're trying to expose magic."

Harry blinked. "Wait, it's the _Veela_? But that thief was human!"

"Aye, that I am, my Lord Savior!"

Harry whipped around at the voice and was shocked to see the Irish thief from the museum right behind him. The man had used all the magic surrounding Harry to hide his approach. He was grinning like a fool, wearing casual clothes and a long black trench coat.

"You!" Harry exclaimed and pointed his wand at him. "You're the one who started all this trouble!"

"Hardly," the man rolled his eyes. "I'm simply the one who blew it out of proportion."

"That's the same thing." The thief joined the centaur and goblin and Harry reluctantly lowered his wand. "What's going on here?"

"Almost a year ago, a Veela got it into his head that the muggles should know about magic," the thief explained. "They were royally pissed off about the damage done to them during the war and that the wizards didn't come to their defense. So this Veela had the thought that if muggles knew about magic, then when the next war happened, they could use the muggles as allies."

"The _next_ war?"

"There will always be a next war, Savior," the thief assured him seriously. "Whether it's in your lifetime or the next. It's simply in our nature to kill each other."

"It is not," Harry argued instantly. "Human nature is to be kind to one other, we are taught hate and fear as we grow up. We are not inherently evil!"

"Leave the philosophical debate for later," Ragnok interrupted. "We need to worry about right now. The war this thief is speaking of is much closer than you think."

"Why are the Veela trying to expose magic? Why do they think muggles knowing the truth would make things easier for them?"

"Because they're b-e-a-u-ti-full!" The thief laughed. "Muggles are suckers for shiny things. After so many years, most wizards and magical creatures are aware of Veela tricks and how they use their looks to get what they want. Muggles, however, don't know any of this."

"They're like fresh lambs to the slaughter," Ragnok growled.

"The Veelas want to expose magic to the muggles by making wizards look like nefarious villains so the Veela can swoop in to rescue them, thus securing their loyalty."

"How are they making wizards look like villains?"

All eyes turned to the thief who grinned shamelessly and shrugged. "I was paid very good money."

The goblin snorted in disdain.

"So what are all of you doing?" Harry asked, looking around at the gathered creatures.

"We don't want magic exposed, boy!" Ragnok yelled. The hippogriff snorted in displeasure at the noise. "Muggles are as fickle as wizards! Unlike Veelas we can't blend in with them. They'll want to study us, put us on display, cut us open and look at our insides!"

"We have been fighting with the Veela secretly for the past year in an effort to stop their plans," Ulivion explained. "Only recently has your government taken notice of our plight."

"That's why I'm here," Harry said. "They sent me to stop the muggles from discovering us." Harry glanced at the thief. "Something that was a lot easier until recently."

The Irishman shrugged. "It was an unfortunate situation but I needed to take the job in order to try and find the leader of their group."

"Leader?"

"When I was a lad, my family was told of magic and I was sent off to school to learn. When I returned, they feared me. Me own mum looked at me like I was some sort of monster. I learned that day that muggles should never be told of magic. They fear what they do not understand, even if it's their own flesh and blood."

Harry didn't answer, remembering the way Iien looked at him after the fight.

"Because of this, I agreed to help these two. I managed to get myself hired by the Veelas, hoping I would get to meet the guy at the top and find out who started this mess. Alas, it was not meant to be. They paid me my money and sent me on my way."

"Who hired you?" Harry asked quickly. "If we can find the middle man, we may be able to track him."

"Why should we share our information with you?" Ragnok demanded. "You're just another ministry dog!"

"He's the Lord Savior, you crotchety little bag of wind!" the thief snapped. "If anyone can bring about change in the Ministry, it's him."

"Hah! With that ring on he's as worthless as a babe!"

"This ring is coming off in a few days!" Harry insisted. "And if things are really as bad as you say they are, then Minister Shacklebolt will listen! He's a good person and is trying to stop magic from being revealed!"

The goblin made an intense sound of disbelief but it was the centaur who spoke.

"Your Minister is not as righteous as you think. He is still a man and subject to corruption like any other. I would advise you not to put such complete faith in him."

Harry scowled. "Kingsley is my friend and a good man. I trust him with my life."

"And that's your mistake," Ragnok sneered. "We'll not make it."

"The point of all of this," the thief joined in, "is that the Veela want to expose magic. We're trying our damnedest to stop them but they've gotten bolder in the last month. We need to find the one who started this movement and stop them."

"Whoever it is is very rich and powerful," Harry mused. "I can try and use my connections in the Ministry to dig for information."

"Why not just ask your fiance?" Ragnok said, gesturing at the ring with a cruel smile.

Harry scowled at him. "He is not my fiance. Like I said, this ring is going to disappear soon. We should work together. We all have a common goal of protecting magic."

"I don't think a squeaky-clean Savior like you really wants to be part of our... dealings," the thief shrugged. "We'll keep doing what we're doing and you can do what you see fit."

"We don't need the help of a Veela slave," Ragnok said.

"I am _not_ a Veela slave!" Harry shouted.

"You are so long as you have that ring on," the thief pointed out. "Why don't you work on freeing yourself before you worry about saving the rest of us."

Angry, Harry scowled at the thief. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Me? I'm just a thief! You can call me Gadai." He grinned. "And though I'd love to keep chatting, it's time for you to go! We have work to do and you're getting in the way of that."

"What kind of work—"

"Enough. Until you're free from your Veela masters, you're useless to us," Ragnok said. "Leave now, wizard, and do not speak of our meeting to anyone. You do not know who you can trust."

The goblin snapped his fingers and Harry felt himself engulfed by magic. He closed his eyes and shook his head. When he looked up again, he was standing outside of the small town, the forest far away in the distance. Left with many unanswered questions, Harry disapparated, wanting to find Hermione and Ron right away to tell them what he'd learned.

*!*!*

Harry looked at his phone and read the message from Duo. He rolled his eyes and responded, slightly annoyed. He knew Duo and the others were keeping close tabs on him and his friends but constantly demanding to know where he was at all times was getting on his nerves. Hopefully when the ring came over tomorrow at midnight and Harry was able to tell them everything, they would stop being so paranoid about him leaving.

A message beeped on his phone, this time from Trowa.

Harry _really_ hoped they would stop being so paranoid.

As Harry responded to Trowa's message, Hermione finally spoke. She and Ron had been sitting in silence while processing everything he had told them.

"The Veela want to use the muggles in case the wizards ever get out of control again," she said. "They think that by allying themselves with them, they'll be strong enough to fight back against us."

"But we're not even fighting them!" Ron exclaimed. The trio was currently sitting in Hermione's apartment, sipping drinks. "I mean, we're still pretty beat up from the war still, we don't have the strength to fight them even if we wanted to."

"Which is probably why this is all happening now," Harry pointed out. "Their taking advantage of us while we're weakened."

"So are the Veela doing this because they really are afraid of wizards... or because they want more?"

"More?" Harry and Ron repeated.

Hermione shrugged. "Well think about it. We've done absolutely nothing hostile to them and we've been bending over backwards to make them happy. There's no reason for them to seek allies when there's nothing to fight about."

"So that would imply they plan on fighting over something," Ron caught on. "They want something from wizards but know whatever it is, we'll say no."

"The Veela have concocted this crazy scheme to reveal magic and make wizards look evil so the muggles will trust them over us. And once they have the muggles' trust, they'll make their move against us for whatever it is they want," Harry summarized.

"Where do you think the marriage contracts come in in all of this?" Ron asked.

Hermione frowned thoughtfully. "I don't think they do. I think the contracts are just a ploy to keep us distracted. Think about it, if they really wanted them, they wouldn't have signed a temporary treaty with Kingsley. They would have demanded them to be permanent."

"What we've got to figure out now is what the Veela want from the wizards badly enough to go through all this trouble and risk everything by exposing magic."

The three lapsed into silence, having no thoughts or suggestions for what the Veela could possibly want. Harry's phone chirped and he glanced down, not surprised to see Duo's name appear on the screen. Harry titled his head curiously.

"Hey, not to change the subject, but Duo invited all of us out tomorrow night to a club Quatre owns."

"All of us?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Yeah, Duo, Quatre, Trowa... maybe Heero and Wufei too."

Ron snorted. "No way would that guy would ever go out to a club."

The phone beebed again and Harry rolled his eyes.

"He's calling it a 'spend-the-entire-night-with-you-so-you-can't-run-away-without-spilling-the-beans party."

Ron snorted while Hermione shook her head. "Clever," she muttered.

Harry shrugged. "Well I'm in. Anything's better than sitting around staring at my finger waiting for midnight."

The two agreed. "All right, tell him we're in too."

"Could be fun."

Harry nodded and sent the reply to his boyfriend. "Okay, I'm going to shower and go to bed. With Kingsley giving us the silent treatment there's nothing we can do about the Veelas for now. We'll have to wait until the ring comes off and go from there."

"Agreed," Hermione said. She stood and stretched. "You want to stay the night?"

Harry hid his smile at how Ron turned red and quickly said yes to her question. Harry bid them goodnight before going to the bathroom. As he was getting undressed he distinctly heard Ron cast a silencing charm around Hermione's bedroom. Harry shook his head and climbed into the water. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

*!*!*

Duo was standing outside a loud club on the street corner. The light above him had blinked out long ago, leaving Duo in the dark, as he preferred it. He was dressed in all black, save for a white color that some mistook as a priest's. Outwardly, Duo looked calm and almost bored, but inside he was panicking.

Harry had disappeared earlier that day. He and Duo had made lunch plans but the teen had texted him and told him he wasn't going to make it. He then somehow managed to escape Heero and Wufei's watchful eyes. Jean and Arthur both went to work all day and Quatre and Sally stuck to them like glue. Now it was nearing nine o'clock, the time Duo and Harry had agreed to meet, and Duo was worried the teen wasn't going to show up.

His heart beat erratically in chest. Duo had been so sure that Harry was a good person, despite the lies. He truly believed his boyfriend didn't mean them any harm and could be trusted. Duo wasn't sure why he trusted him so much, but every time he looked into Harry's eyes a feeling of warmth and love filled him and the braided man just couldn't bring himself to believe anything bad.

Footsteps filled the night air and Duo turned. Relief filled him so intensely his knees felt weak. Harry was running down the street towards him, pulling a light black jacket on. He was smiling as he rushed to Duo out of breath.

"I'm sorry, am I late?" he asked, stopping to catch his breath.

"Right on time," Duo assured. "Why'd you skip out on lunch today?"

"I had to take care of somethings concerning my estate and Trowa."

Duo frowned in confusion.

"I wanted to make sure that if something happened to me, the right people knew I had a brother."

"What's going to happen to you?" Duo asked suspiciously.

Harry just shook his head. "Nothing, hopefully. We'll find out later tonight."

"What the hell kind of cryptic statement is that?"

Harry just laughed and took his boyfriend's hand. "Come on, Duo, you've waited all this time, you can make it a few more hours."

"The world's not going to blow up before you start talking, is it?"

Harry burst into laughter. "I sure hope not."

Harry dragged Duo after him towards the club. They were let in without a word and Duo gestured towards a table in the back. The couple was the last to arrive and Harry grinned at Ron and Hermione, who looked a little uncomfortable, surrounded by the other ex-pilots. The table they sat at had high booths that reached the ceiling, giving them slightly more privacy than the others.

"I can't believe it," Harry said, a smile on his face. "Heero actually came out to a club."

Heero stared at him, as stoic as ever, which served to amuse Harry even more.

"It's just the first step," Duo teased. "One day, I'll get him to dance."

Harry snorted in disbelief as he took a seat. He leaned over to Ron. "Have you talked to Charlie?"

Ron nodded. "The whole family's sitting up with him. I think everyone everywhere is."

Harry glanced at his watch. "Well we've got three hours to kill."

"What happens in three hours?" Heero demanded.

Harry turned to him and grinned. "Either something really good or really bad, we honestly don't know which."

Before Heero could question them further, Harry grabbed Duo's hand and pulled him to his feet. "Let's dance. They'll be plenty of time for questions later."

Harry dragged them out to the dance floor, Ron and Hermione following. A moment later Trowa and Quatre followed, leaving Heero and Wufei alone at the table. The two watched their friends intensely, never letting any of them out of their sight.

The night passed by in a blur for Harry. He had a lot of nervous energy that kept building as midnight drew closer. He barely stopped to rest and was constantly switching dance partners, doing whatever he could to not think about the impending deadline. He knew that the ring would vanish, he trusted Kingsley completely, but part of him was still worried.

Hermione and Ron collapsed back into the booth, sweating lightly and out of breath from all the dancing. Even though they weren't the ones with the engagement ring, both were worried for their friend. They tried to keep up with Harry in an effort to distract him but it was hard. Hermione kept glancing at her watch and Ron kept asking for the time. As they stopped to take a break, Ron accepted a drink from Quatre.

"You three are awfully energetic," the blonde commented.

Ron nodded. "Just trying to blow off some steam."

"State your real name," Heero suddenly ordered. Hermione and Ron stared at him in surprise.

"What?"

"Both of you, what are your real names? We know you are spies," Wufei said.

Ron blinked at him. "When did you figure that out?"

Hermione slapped his arm and Ron flinched. "What was that for? I thought we were telling them!"

"No, it's 11:59!" Hermione shoved Ron out of the booth and the two stumbled quickly through the crowds. They grabbed Harry away from Duo and the three stood in a circle in the middle of the dance floor, ignoring everyone around them.

"Is it time?" Harry asked. His good mood from the night of dancing vanished and his heart beat quickly.

Hermione grabbed Harry's hands and covered them with her own. Ron twisted her wrist to look at her watch while the five pilots watched them wearily.

"Three...two...one..."

Ron's voice trailed off and Harry felt magic surround him. Warmth encircled his hand and Harry closed his eyes, letting the magic pass by him. His finger felt suddenly cold and he opened his eyes to look at Hermione.

"Well?" Ron demanded.

Slowly, Hermione uncovered Harry's hands. They looked down and didn't see a silver engagement ring anymore. Harry let out of whoop of delight while Ron cheered. Hermione flung her arms around Harry's neck and he twirled her.

"Congratulations on your break-up, mate!" Ron teased.

Harry laughed and released his friends to run over to Duo. He jumped on his boyfriend, kissing him happily with the biggest grin on his on his face. Duo caught him around the waist and stared in confusion.

"So I guess the good thing happened?"

"Sweet _Merlin_ yes!"

The four made their way over to the table where the others had been watching them carefully.

"Are you going to tell us what happened?" Quatre asked.

Harry shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore. I don't want to ruin tonight."

"We're going to take off," Ron said. "I want to go see Charlie, make sure he's okay."

"Tell your mum I said hi," Harry requested. "Tell Charlie congratulations."

"We will."

"You are not going anywhere," Heero said, standing awkwardly as the table restricted him.

"Don't worry Heero, they'll be back tomorrow morning," Harry assured. "We've got breakfast plans at Quatre's, remember? Tonight though, we're celebrating." Harry turned to Duo, his eyes sparkling. "You know, I was really freaked out for a minute."

"So was I," Hermione admitted. Harry turned to her. "I actually brought the paperwork for plan B, you know, just in case."

Harry grinned and Ron exclaimed, "Well I wasn't! I knew you two were just being paranoid!"

"Oh really, Mr. We-Need-To-Make-Sure-Everything's-Ready-Just-In-Case?"

Ron turned red at Harry's teasing but rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist. "Whatever, we'll see all of you in the morning."

Hermione kissed Harry on the cheek and the two left, completely ignoring Heero and Wufei's death glares. Harry turned to Trowa.

"I'll see you first thing in the morning, okay?"

After Trowa nodded, Harry tugged on Duo's arm and smiled as he led them towards the door. Duo locked their fingers together and smiled back.

"Whatever happened must have been good."

"Duo, you have no idea."

* * *

**A/N: This is where a lemon would go but I decided not to write one. It's a T rated story anyway. If you're wondering why Heero let them leave the club, it's because Duo was with Harry and he trusts Duo not to let Harry run off.**

**So Harry's on cloud nine cuz the ring is gone. Did you guys see that one coming? So many of you have gotten good at guessing what's coming next that I'm hoping this threw you for a loop. Authors love surprising their readers, after all. And we have a new group of magical creatures that are fighting the Veela. I hope that scene made sense, it was kinda hard to write. Not to mention that Kingsley's acting all weird. What's up with his secrets, I wonder?**

**Also, Gadai means thief. So the thief basically told Harry is his name is thief. Original, no? Next chapter Harry tells them everything. About magic, about Veela, all of it! And a plot twist! You should all be excited, I am.**

**Lastly, I think most know by now but I LOVE cliches. I'm looking for cliches right now to read. In the HP, Yu-Gi-Oh, or crossover fandoms, I want to read either a gang-themed fic or Harry is the sibling to the boy-who-lived and grows up all bad ass. Does anyone know any good ones? If so, please share! I would love to find something fun to read.**

**Thanks! And please review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Date Posted: April 30th, 2015**

**A/N: So this first scene was kinda added in because a few people requested seeing Harry and Duo's thoughts. Still falls within the T rating.**

**So I'm over three hundred reviews! Thank you all so much! Let's keep it going until the end!**

**Chapter Twenty:**

Duo's eyes were bright in the darkness of his room. Harry loved staring in to the violet orbs. He had never seen a person with such vibrant eyes full of mischief. They always sparkled and held knowledge behind them, as if Duo could see right through him and knew what was going on in his head. It made Harry feel vulnerable, but in a good way. Slowly, Harry crawled on top of Duo who shifted slightly to accommodate him.

"You were only supposed to be a fling," Harry mused, mostly to himself. He touched Duo's cheek gently.

"Yeah? You know you're not the fling type, right?"

Harry shrugged. He supposed Duo was right. Harry didn't take matters of the heart lightly. If he dated someone, he made sure he and the other person were serious.

"I know but I was never supposed to—"

Harry stopped and glanced away. Duo smiled and touched Harry's cheek, turning his face back to him. Their eyes met and Harry felt his heart melt.

"I love you," Harry whispered.

Duo leaned up and kissed Harry lovingly. He couldn't get over how fast and how hard he had fallen for the younger man. Despite all the secrets and lies, Duo only wanted to be with Harry. Because no matter what secret Harry was keeping, Duo knew it wasn't something unforgivable. As kissed his way down Harry's chest, enjoying the way the teen shivered, Duo knew there wasn't anything Harry could ever do that he wouldn't forgive. When they were together like this, Duo's world was perfect.

Duo nudged Harry's head back and kissed his neck, moving down to his collar bone and placing butterfly kisses everywhere he could reach. Harry shivered once more. Duo's lips were like fire and left him wanting more. More of the man touching him so softly and sweetly.

"Duo..." Harry whispered, his eyes closed in pleasure.

"I love you, Harry," Duo whispered.

Their eyes met and Harry gasped, lost in a whirlwind of pleasure and happiness. Harry decided in that moment that he wanted to spend everyday for the rest of his life with Duo. No matter what happened tomorrow when he revealed all his secrets, Harry would make sure that he and Duo would be together for as long as Duo would have him.

*!*!*

The next morning Harry woke up to the sound of a phone ringing. The body next to him grumbled in complaint and reached over to grab the phone. Duo's lazy voice spoke in an annoyed tone.

"What?"

He was silent for a moment before he lifted his head and glared at the clock.

"It's six freaking am, Heero."

There was a long pause before Duo grunted again and hung up, tossing the phone on the table. He wiped at his tired eyes before giving up and nuzzling back into Harry. Harry smiled and rolled over. At such a close distance not having his glasses on didn't bother him. Harry could make out Duo's features perfectly as he smiled.

"Does Heero want breakfast already?" Harry asked, teasing.

The man rolled his eyes. "He's pretty pissed we left last night."

Harry just shrugged. "It was worth it."

Duo grinned and flipped the younger boy under him. "Had fun, did you?"

"It was perfect."

Duo grinned cockily. "Yeah well, I am the best." He kissed Harry before crawling out of bed. "Now get dressed. I don't want Heero busting down my door again."

Harry laughed and rolled out of bed, flinching slightly at the soreness in his lower back. He stood and stretched carefully, feeling his muscles loosen. Harry couldn't stop the silly grin that covered his face. Everything was perfect. The engagement ring was gone, Duo had been his first time (with man, anyway) and Harry was feeling confident in telling everyone the truth about himself and his world. After all, if Duo forgave him for the lies, then Harry was pretty sure the others would follow suit.

"Hey can we stop by my place and get some clothes?" Harry yelled. "I don't want to wear the same thing twice!"

"I think Heero would murder us both if we did that," Duo's voice called from the bathroom. "You'll just have to deal with it."

Harry grumbled but relented. He joined Duo in the bathroom, stopping to admire the view of his boyfriend just in his boxers.

"Can I use your toothbrush?"

Duo spit into the sink and made a face. "What? No that's gross, kid."

"Seriously? After what we did last night you think sharing a toothbrush is gross?"

"Yes." Duo reached into the cabinet and pulled out an open package of brushes, picking one out for Harry. "Here. You can can have your own."

Harry grinned widely and took it. His heart felt so light and happy. Duo caught his grin and rolled his eyes.

"It's just a toothbrush."

"It's permission to be in your home," Harry corrected, setting his brush next to Duo's and smiling.

"You're awfully sappy this morning," Duo teased. He pulled Harry close to him and kissed him.

"I have a lot to sappy about." They stayed together before Harry pulled away. "Thank you."

Duo cocked an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For loving me. I know I made it hard, with all the secrets, but you stayed with me. You believed in me. So thank you." He wrapped his arms around the slightly taller man. "I love you."

Duo kissed his head and just enjoyed the feeling of holding his boyfriend in his arms. He could honestly say that this moment was perfect. If Duo woke up everyday for the rest of his life being able to hold Harry, he would never complain again. Everything was wonderful.

The sound of the phone ringing in the other room broke the moment and Harry laughed as Duo pulled away with a grumble.

"Get ready and let's go! I meant it when I said Heero would bust the door down."

Still smiling like a loon, Harry did as he was asked.

*!*!*

They made it to Trowa and Quatre's house by seven. Harry had briefly talked to Ron and Hermione who said they would join him around eight. Kingsley had finally called to speak with them and they were planning on informing him of their plans. Harry really hoped the Minister didn't cause any trouble. As far as he was concerned, he'd given Kingsley plenty of chances to stop him. It wasn't his fault the Minister had shut him out.

Heero greeted them at the door and Harry couldn't resist greeting him with a very chipper, "Good morning!" Heero scowled and looked at Harry's clothes.

"Good morning," he deadpanned. Harry flushed red and realized it was going to be very obvious to everyone what he and Duo had gotten up to last night. Only Heero could make a simple greeting sound like a reprimand.

Breakfast was already prepared on the table and everyone seated had barely touched plates in front of them. Harry sat himself next to Trowa and greeted everyone before grabbing some food. He had a feeling the guys wouldn't wait so he started to eat quickly.

"So where do you want me to start?" Harry asked around a mouthful of eggs.

"Why have you infiltrated our organization?" Heero said immediately.

Harry swallowed. "To determine what you knew about us and if you were a threat."

"Who do you work for?" Wufei asked.

Harry frowned. "That's kind of a loaded question."

"Elaborate."

Harry took another bite of food as he tried to think of the best way to go about this conversation. He had meant to practice last night but had gotten... distracted. "Well... I guess if I'm going to tell you about my government I'll have to tell you about us first. What we are."

"What?" Quatre asked. "Not who?"

"You already know who I am, now you need to know what." Harry took one last large bite of food before pushing his plate away. He pulled out his wand and set it on the table. Wufei grabbed it and the group stared in shock.

"You are part of the group we have been chasing!"

Harry nodded. "Do you believe in magic?"

"Magic?"

"Think about everything you've been working on with the task force and switch the word 'technology' with the word 'magic.' We're wizards."

"There's no such thing as magic," Heero snapped.

"Sure there is." Harry stood and held out his hand. His wand flew from Wufei's grasp into his waiting palm. "Tell me something that's impossible. Something you know can't be done with technology or tricks or illusions."

They stared at him like he'd grown a second head and Harry sighed impatiently. Finally, Trowa spoke first.

"The table can never be turned into a lion."

"Transfiguration?" Harry grumbled. "Not one of my strong points." He looked at the table. "Okay, I don't know how to make a lion but I'll give it a try. We learned to change tea cups into rats in our first year so it should be about the same, just on a larger scale. Move back."

The five did as asked, not sure what Harry was about to do. Surely he wasn't about try and attempt to change the table into something. The very thought was ridiculous. But Harry raised his wand and waved, muttering the spell under his breath. The table gave a mighty lurch and began to shrink. It morphed until the shape of a lion stood before them. It was the same color and texture of the table and when it attempted to roar no sound came out and its breath smelled like eggs.

Harry grimaced at it. "My technique isn't very good with this sort of thing. If you'd like, I'll ask Hermione to do it again when she and Ron get here. She's better at this than me."

"Who?" Duo asked, staring at the table-lion in shock.

"Jean and Arthur, their real names are Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley."

The five wanted to question him further but they couldn't take their eyes off the lion. Trowa reached out and jerked his hand back, shocked when the creature felt like a wooden table instead of an animal. As they watched, it slowly returned to being a table. Heero shook his head.

"It is not real. Magic does not exist."

"It does," Harry assured him. "Would you like me to show you something else?"

They were silent for a minute before Duo spoke. "The disappearing trick..."

"It's called Apparating. You just turn on your heal and..." Harry vanished with a crack and reappeared in the doorway. He put up a protection charm the moment he reappeared, knowing Heero would shoot at him on instinct. Of course he did, and then stared in shock when the bullet stopped three inches before hitting Harry.

Trowa wanted to scold Heero for shooting at his brother but couldn't find his voice. Harry had not only disappeared and reappeared but he had stopped Heero's bullet in midair! Harry waved his wand and banished the bullet and his shield, walking forward.

"Magic is real and I'm a wizard. That's my big secret. That's what I've been keeping from all of you. If you want me to demonstrate more, I will."

"No, that was quite enough," Quatre said quickly, his voice a little breathy. Harry couldn't tell if he was frightened or just shocked. The teen nodded and slipped his wand up his sleeve.

"Well when you guys are ready, just let me know. I'm going to get some more eggs."

Harry waited for someone to speak but when no one did, he awkwardly left the room and entered the kitchen. When he came back out with a plate of food, the five were still standing in the exact spots he'd left them. He sat down in a chair and tried to eat as quietly as he could.

"How many are there of you?" Duo was the first to break the silence.

Harry shrugged. "Thousands and thousands. We live all over the world in secret communities. We have our own system of governments, our our towns, shops, banks, zoos... whatever. They're more muggles than us, if that's what you meant."

"Muggles?"

"People like you guys, who have no magic. We call them muggles."

"You're... everywhere? And no one knows?"

"The leaders of the muggle government are told when they're elected but it's a strict need-to-know basis only. If anyone finds out about magic who isn't supposed to know, we cast what's called a Memory Charm on them and make them forget."

"Memory charm?" Trowa asked, finally looking at Harry.

The teen nodded. "It can be used to either modify a memory or remove it altogether. It's not something we take lightly and it's only used when necessary. It's a big part of the reason we've managed to stay hidden all this time."

The pilots all took their seats, the shock finally starting to wear off. Questions were popping into their heads as they began to believe the story Harry was telling them.

"How..." Quatre paused, unsure of what he wanted to ask first. "How long?"

"How long what?" Harry asked. "How long have we been around or how long have we been in hiding?"

"Both."

"Well I don't know how long there have been wizards. Probably as long as muggles. We used to live side by side with them but back in the 1800s, muggles started distrusting wizards. They began witch hunts and burning people at the stake. Once that started happening, it was agreed that wizards and all magical creatures would go into hiding and no non-magical person would be told of our existence again."

"Wizards were afraid?" Duo asked in surprise.

"Muggles out number us two to one. And wouldn't you be afraid, if someone was hunting you so they could kill for no other reason than you're different?"

Duo acknowledged the point and Heero spoke next. "You said your government sent you here."

"Our people realized that the Preventers were gathering information that magic is real. You guys weren't accepting the cover stories we provided and were starting to notice us. The Minister of Magic sent myself and my team to infiltrate your organization. Our mission was to determine what you knew about us and do whatever was necessary to make you accept the stories we had used for cover ups."

"How?"

Harry glanced at Wufei. "Like I said, any means necessary." He addressed the group again. "After working with you, Ron, Hermione, and I determined you were not a threat. We felt that instead of hiding from you, we should instead tell you the truth. The Preventers are very large and powerful organization and will have more run ins with our people, no matter how hard we tried to hide."

"Your government gave you permission to 'let us in on the secret' as you put it?" Quatre asked.

Harry felt his cheeks heat up slightly. "Er... well, no. Not really." The five stared at him and Harry laughed nervously. "You see, the people that we were chasing with the task force is a group of unknowns attempting to reveal magic to everyone. When we found out about this, our mission changed. Instead of worrying about whether or not the Preventers were a threat, we were told to work with you, trying to find the unknown group while also hiding magic from you."

"So why are telling us now?" Wufei demanded.

Harry shrugged. "Because of Trowa. I mean, being the son of a witch automatically means he's allowed to know about our world. It's his birthright. And because Quatre's his husband, he's also allowed to know the truth."

"What about me?" Duo questioned.

Harry shook his head. "You're not allowed to tell muggles until you're married. Technically I'm not allowed to tell you anything."

"So you're breaking the rules by telling us this?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, pretty badly. Honestly, if it were anyone other than me was doing this, they'd probably be sent to prison and you would all have your memories erased."

The five scowled at the words. "What makes you so special that you can break your own laws?" Wufei asked.

"Er... I'll explain the whole boy-who-lived and Savior story later. It's not important right now."

"Do you know who the group is who we have been trying to catch?" Heero asked.

"I have an idea, but I don't know exactly. We think it's a group lead by the Veela."

"Veela?"

"Oh, Veela, well they're technically magical creatures. They look like extremely beautiful humans but can transform into bird like creatures with beaks, claws, and wings that sprout from their back."

"Those things Kron described?"

"Yeah, those were Veela."

"You fought them? Everything Kron said was true?"

Harry nodded. "Normally in that case, we would have modified his memory so he didn't recall any of that but since he didn't really believe it himself, we left him alone."

"You would have changed his memory?"

"Well yeah, you saw how it changed him. Iien didn't even believe what he saw but he still couldn't look at me without getting scared. That's why we hide from muggles. They fear what they don't understand. It's not like they're alone, wizards fear muggles too."

"So because everyone's afraid of each other, everyone just stays ignorant?"

Harry shrugged. It was just how things were. In some cases, like Iien or the Dursleys, it was better that way.

"Okay then what—"

Duo's question was interrupted when Harry suddenly sat up straight, reaching for his wand. The feeling of magic surrounding him overwhelmed his senses. Harry looked around for a possible threat but the magic began to shrink and focus on his hand, specifically on his... finger.

Horrified, Harry watched as a pure silver band appeared around his finger. His jaw dropped open and he gawked at his hand.

"Wh-why's it back?" he whispered.

"What is that? What's wrong?" Duo demanded. The five stood, staring at Harry who barely noticed them.

"Harry?" Trowa called.

"Why's it back?" Harry repeated, his voice shaking. This couldn't be happening. It was a mistake. The treaty had expired, the ring had vanished. Harry had spent the best night of his life with Duo because the engagement was off. He was supposed to be free from the frivolous contract.

Thoroughly freaked out, Harry shakily pulled his bracelet off with his teeth, not wanting to touch anything with his hand, which felt cursed at the moment. He didn't get a chance to call Ron or Hermione before both stones lit up, singling his friends were trying to call him.

"Harry!" Hermione's voice yelled through the stone, sounding worried.

"Why is it back?" Harry asked, trying hard to control himself. He wanted to scream, to rage, to cut his finger off. Duo was the one he loved and this ring was going to cause problems between them, not to mention all the other bad things it represented.

"Harry, go to plan B!" Hermione ordered. "Now!"

"Plan B?" Harry whispered. He shook his head. "No... no it was gone. It was _gone_, Hermione! It shouldn't be here! We shouldn't _need_ plan B!"

"Harry," Ron's voice spoke, sounding more calm than his friends but still stressed out. "Kingsley betrayed us, he betrayed you. The Veelas refused to sign the peace treaty if your contract got taken out."

"Kingsley wouldn't do that," Harry said, grinding his teeth. He could feel tears burning at his eyes. "He wouldn't betray me like that. He wouldn't..."

"He did, Harry," Hermione said. "We've got very little time before Lord Christoph comes for you. Where are you now?"

"At Quatre's place..."

"Is Trowa there? Do you have the documents?"

"No, I left them behind... I didn't think I needed them." Harry closed his eyes, feeling sick. This couldn't be happening.

"I'm sending Ron with them now. You have to give everything to Trowa, we don't have much time."

"Kingsley..." Harry felt a tear fall down his cheek as he put his bracelet back on. He buried his face in his hands, feeling like his world had just been flipped upside down. He couldn't believe Kingsley would betray him like this, something must have happened. The Minister was Harry's friend, he trusted him with his life. They fought in the war together and saved each other's lives more than once. Hell, Harry had taken Teddy to Kingsley's daughter's birthday party!

"Harry!" Trowa and Duo had a hand placed on his shoulder and Harry looked up at them, his eyes wide and slightly scared. What would happen to these two? Would Harry ever be allowed to see them again?

"What's going on?"

Before he could answer, Ron apparated in. Five guns pointed at him and the redhead stopped in surprise for a moment before shaking it off. He ignored the men and ran over to Harry, placing a stack of papers on the table.

"Are you okay?"

"Tell me what happened."

"I don't know the whole story," Ron admitted. "Hermione's trying to get the details now. Kingsley and Lord Christoph signed the new treaty just a minute ago. She thinks once we have a copy of the contract we can find a loophole."

Harry nodded numbly and spotted the papers Ron had brought. He shook his friends off and grabbed blank documents, turning to Trowa. He took his brother's hand and placed it palm down on the papers. Taking a deep breath, Harry spoke in ancient in Latin.

"Omnia libenter, mi frater sanguis. Omnia ego, quae mea erant omnia, nunc tua." **I give to you willingly, my blood brother. All that I own, all that I am, is now yours.**

Trowa frowned and shifted uncomfortably. Light began to shine from his and Harry's hands but it wasn't in anyway warm or comforting. He felt dirty, like he was stealing something very precious from his brother. Writing began to appear line by line on the papers until every last one was filled with small text. Only when the papers had finished writing on themselves did the feeling start to fade. Once the light was gone, Trowa felt strange. He felt like he knew more than he had before and his hand tingled intensely.

"You okay?" Harry whispered.

"No," Trowa answered. "What did you just do?"

"What I had to." Harry slowly let go of Trowa's hand and handed the papers to Ron. "Get them to Gringrotts, now."

Ron was staring at the papers with a look of disgust. He swallowed and took them carefully. "This isn't right," he said. "You shouldn't have to do this. To... to give up your name. Your _very self_."

"I'd rather Trowa got it than Christoph. Now hurry up and go, before the time limit runs out."

Ron nodded but paused. "Don't go anywhere, stay _right_ _here._ Hermione will be here any second with the treaty, so just stay here."

Harry didn't answer and Ron turned to Trowa and Duo, asking them with his eyes to watch over his Harry. With one last look at his stunned friend, Ron turned and vanished, hurrying to the wizard bank.

"Harry, what's going on?" Duo demanded.

Harry suddenly felt his stomach lurch and placed a hand over his mouth. "I'm going to be sick."

He shot to his feet and ran to the bathroom, making it just in time.

*!*!*

When Hermione appeared in Quatre's living room, she wasn't surprised to find multiple guns pointed at her. Quatre, Wufei, and Heero were glaring at her suspiciously. She glared right back.

"Is he still here?"

"Yes, he's locked himself in the bathroom," Quatre answered. "I hope you have an explanation."

Hermione nodded and hurried up the stairs, talking over her shoulder to the men as she walked. "Harry's family, the Potters, were once contracted to another family, the Vitrols, many years ago. Marriage Contracts died out but recently, the Veela people have been trying to get them back."

"The ring on his finger is an engagement ring?" Quatre exclaimed.

"Yes. In exchange for the peace of our world, Harry was sold to Christoph Von Vitrol and is expected to become his bride."

They arrived at the bathroom just in time for Duo and Trowa to hear her words. The two openly gawked at her.

"Someone bought and sold him?" Duo demanded, his voice shaking with rage.

Hermione nodded grimly and took out her wand, banishing the bathroom door. Harry was sitting on the toilet, a small knife in his hand. He held it over his finger, poised to stab down at any moment. Hermione stood before him, frowning.

"That won't get rid of the ring. It'll just pass to a different finger."

"I know," Harry answered. "It's still really tempting though."

Hermione held out her hand and Harry handed over the knife. The magic wore off and it turned back into a hairbrush that Hermione placed on the sink. She knelt down and looked her friend in the eyes.

"At first glance, everything seems ironclad."

Harry closed his eyes and turned away.

"But I'm not giving up. There's always a loophole in legal documents, we'll find the one in here."

"Did Kingsley really sign them?"

"Yes."

"_Why_?" Harry's voice was broken when he spoke.

"To keep the peace between our nations. He felt he should sacrifice one for the good of all."

Harry's eyes widened. "'I've never felt so close to Dumbledore'... this is what he meant by that." Harry shook his head. "So I get to be the sacrifice _again._"

"I'm going to find a way out of this," Hermione promised fiercely. "I'm going to find a way to get you out of here."

"Run," Duo said suddenly. The five were standing in the doorway listening. "Run away until you find a way out."

Harry looked at him sadly and held his hand up. "The ring won't let me."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"It's magic, Duo," Hermione said. "Come on, let's go downstairs and we can try and figure this out." She reached out to pull Harry to his feet but paused. "Are these the same clothes from last night?"

Harry smiled and Hermione blinked in surprise, looking between him and Duo.

"At least I got to spend one night with person I love," Harry smirked bitterly.

Hermione smiled tiredly. "Come on."

She tugged him again but the teen refused to move. The blonde frowned. "Harry?"

"I can't move."

He held up his hand again and the ring was glowing slightly. Hermione's eyes widened and she stepped back, covering her mouth. "No! Already?"

Harry nodded.

"What's going on?" Trowa demanded.

"Lord Christoph is using the ring to summon me," Harry answered. "I'm fighting it, but it's not going to work. I'm being summoned to him."

"You two are not making any sense!" Quatre said angrily. "How can this person be summoning you? What does that even mean?"

Hermione knelt down and spoke quickly. "Harry, don't give in! No matter what, don't give up hope. There's a way to get you out of this, I'm sure, I just have to find it." She put her hands on his cheeks. "No matter what, keep fighting and Harry..." Hermione took a shaky breath. "Don't let him consummate the marriage."

Harry snorted. "As if I'd ever sleep with that asshole."

The ring suddenly exploded with light and Hermione screamed, falling back in pain. Her hands burned where she had been touching his face.

"Harry!"

Harry's body began to fade away. He looked over at Duo and Trowa and smiled, wanting to remember their faces. His voice was constricted so Harry mouthed "I love you" to both of them. They could only watch in horror as he faded away without a trace.

**A/N: So ends Act Two! Now on to Act Three! In which we will find out the full story of what the Veela are up to, why the want Harry, and what Duo and Trowa are going to do in order to save him!**

**I'll admit I was kinda worried about this story for a moment. After writing this chapter I kinda walked away from it started on something else. But then I had a huge idea that I loved and came back and I'm so glad I did. I have so much fun planned for the next few chapters. Lots of drama and action, more fight scenes. It's going to be fun! I hope. I really think all of you are going to enjoy the roll Trowa will take in future chapters. It's one of the things I'm most excited to write.**

**So that's all I've got to say! Please review, I'm super excited to read your thoughts and opinions!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Posted: Sunday, May 10th, 2015 (Happy Mother's Day!)**

**A/N: So the only excuse I can offer for not updating in so long is just being very busy with work. Not to mention I got some pretty... uh, let's say not nice PMs concerning the last chapter and the direction this story is now going. Sorry if you guys don't like it, but well, not to seem cold, but seriously, no is forcing anyone to read this story. It's for fun.**

**Anyways! Enough of that. So a lot of reviewers pointed out a few different concerns and thoughts. I will not be adding Relena or Lady Une to the story. First of all, I don't like either of them which makes writing them not fun. Second, there are already so many characters, I don't want to add more players. I came up with a logical reason for those two to not be added in this chapter.**

**Aside from that, everyone's main question is how was Kingsley able to "sell" Harry as part of the treaty? Well my dear readers, please read on and find out.**

**Chapter Twenty-One:**

Hermione sat in the crowd as she listened to Kingsley give his speech detailing the treaty between the Veela government and the Wizards. As he spoke of having the Marriage Contracts removed the crowd cheered. Hermione glanced around herself and remained firmly seated. The public did not know about Harry's kidnapping and from what Hermione could tell, the Ministry wanted to keep it that way.

Kingsley went on to detail the strong friendship that now existed between the two nations and how they were all now working together to recover from the war. Restitutions would stop and instead all the money would be put into a joint fund for everyone who had been hurt during the war to draw upon. A community of Veela and Wizards representatives would be in control of the money.

He continued on, detailing the good the Treaty would bring for both nations and the people in the crowd clapped and cheered. In their minds things were finally getting back on track. The wizards were finally starting to put the war behind them and move forward with their lives. It had been hard but in the end it all paid off.

As Kingsley wrapped up his speech, he paused. His met Hermione's in the crowd and Hermione was pleased when the man seemed to deflate. His joyous attitude from the warm reception of his speech left him and he turned away, his head held low. Hermione rolled her eyes and stood.

"At least Dumbledore was strong enough to look us in the eye," she muttered to herself.

Hermione left the Ministry and apparated to Quatre's mansion. The wards she and Ron had put up around the muggle home made it impossible for anyone to appear without permission but that didn't stop Heero from insisting on coded knocks and phrases. Especially after he had been told what a polyjuice potion was.

She knocked on the door three times, then once, then twice, then three more times. She made a mental note to ask Heero to shorten the code as if they came charging in hurt or in danger it took far too long to finish. When she entered the foyer, Wufei was waiting for her, a gun pointed at her face.

She held up her hands. "I am not a spy... anymore." She couldn't resist adding the last part, a tiny smile gracing her lips. Wufei scowled at her but lowered his weapon.

"Did you find anything out?" he asked.

The two walked into the living room where Heero and Quatre were sitting with old books and documents spread before them.

"No. He's been very careful not to mention Harry at all in his speeches. No one knows Harry was sold as part of the contract."

A little voice suddenly called out from behind her. "Aunt 'Mione! Aunty!"

Hermione turned and knelt down as Teddy came running into her arms. She lifted the little boy up and snuggled his hair.

"Did you find Uncle Harry yet?" he asked excitedly.

"Not yet, Teddy-Bear," Hermione said, sad when the boy's face fell. "We're still looking though, so don't give up yet."

Teddy smiled and shook his head. "Nu-uh! Never!"

Andromeda came down the stairs and entered the living room, three large books floating behind her.

"I have found the books you requested, Quatre," she said, waving her wand so the books set themselves on the table next to the blonde. "I have marked all relevant passages."

"Thank you, Lady Andromeda," he said. "I will get started on them soon. I was wondering if you could decipher this passage for me. I'm afraid I do not know some of the wizard terms used."

"Of course."

As Andromeda went to sit on the couch Hermione couldn't help but reflect on the past month. It had been a month since Harry had been taken from them by Lord Christoph. No one had seen or heard from him since. The only reason they knew he was still alive was because of the bracelet the three friends shared. The stone still glowed green, meaning Harry still lived. They also knew he was in trouble though because he never answered their call and it was supposed to be impossible to block or trace the bracelets.

Andromeda and Teddy had started staying with Quatre about a week after Harry's disappearance. Plan B, as the trio had called it, was Harry signing over everything he owned to Trowa. All of his money, his belongings, even his title was give to his brother. It was only made possible by the fact that they shared blood. If Trowa hadn't been around, Christoph would have gotten everything.

A surprising effect of Plan B that they didn't know would happen was that Trowa became Teddy's Godfather. Hermione hadn't known that it was possible to transfer Godfather-hood but when Andromeda had angrily tracked Ron down through his parents and demanded an explanation, she had received a rude awakening. After being informed of the entire situation, Andromeda decided to stay in the muggle world to help, as she knew the most about pureblood laws and marriages.

Hermione sat on the couch next to Heero, picking up a book and scanning the pages. Quatre had been busy the last month, studying wizard law while Heero familiarized himself with how wizards fought. Wufei was studying the culture of both wizards and Veelas to try and get a better understanding of the two worlds they had been introduced to.

All of the former pilots had taken a very abrupt leave of absence from work, leaving Lady Une and Sally Po to pick up the slack. The two woman were told of the situation but because they now had to run the Preventers alone, they could do little more than offer moral support. Talk had also been had about asking for help from some of the Preventer's old friends, such as Relena, who an accomplished politician. Ron and Hermione had argued against that though, as they didn't want to tell anyone else the secret unless absolutely necessary. Hermione also pointed out that no matter how good Relena was, she was currently extremely busy and important and probably wouldn't be able to drop everything to come and learn an entire new legal system so that she could help negotiate. Quatre had been studying Wizard Law for a month now and was only just beginning to feel confident that he could work the system however he needed.

Hermione's role was to keep an eye on the political atmosphere as best she could. She attended every press conference and scoured the papers for information. After Harry's disappearance, she and Ron had quit their jobs. They attempted to talk to Kingsley but the man had vanished to somewhere unknown. He had only returned a week ago and rumor had it his family did not come back with him.

While all this was going on, Ron, Duo, and Trowa were out searching the world. The three were hunting for Veela or anyone who might have information. They were trying to find the group of magical creatures Harry had met in the clearing but so far had had no luck. Hermione couldn't help but worry for them. Ron and Trowa had no intention of stopping anytime soon but it was Duo who was driving them. He was taking Harry's lose harder than anyone and barely stopped to eat or sleep before resuming the search.

Heero interrupted her thoughts with a question. "Do you know the security to the Ministry of Magic?"

Even though it had been a month, Hermione was still caught off guard when Heero or any of the others spoke about magic.

She nodded. "I know a lot of the charms and spells but Ron and Harry are the ones who know all the secrets."

"Can you apparate into the Minister's office?"

"Not anymore," Hermione said, shaking her head. "The wards only allow certain people to do so and we were taken off the list the moment we quit."

Heero nodded. "Duo and the others are due back in seventeen minutes. I will ask Weasley then."

"Have either of you eaten?" she asked. "I'm going to make something for the boys when they get here." She glanced at Wufei, who was quietly reading. "You might have to help me with Duo."

He glanced at her before returning to his book. "I will ensure he eats."

"Thank you."

The girl entered the kitchen and began making food for everyone. Teddy ran in and asked to help and Hermione smiled at the little boy. She was so proud of how strong he was. He knew something bad had happened to Harry but instead of crying, he ran around the house looking for ways to help. He behaved properly and always did as he was told so that the adults could focus on finding his Uncle.

By the time Hermione had finished making food, Ron and the others had returned. They had been gone for two days straight, hunting for Veela in the northern mountains of France. Hermione sat next to her boyfriend, handing him a plate of sandwiches and chips. The redhead smiled and kissed her sweetly before digging into the food.

"Any luck?" she asked.

"We got close but it's hard to trap something that can fly," Duo grumbled. "I'm going to look up how we can catch birds."

"They're not birds, Duo," Hermione said gently. "They are people."

Duo ignored her as he reached for Heero's computer.

"How'd it go on your end?" Ron asked. "Anything new?"

"No, just the same old thing repeated over and over."

Ron leaned forward. "Quatre?"

"I have yet to find any loopholes in the treaty. It appears to be very well written."

"Kingsley's damn good at what he does," Ron muttered bitterly. "To think I used to admire him for that."

The sting of Kingsley's betrayal was strong. Every time he was mentioned Ron and Hermione had to fight not to cringe. Kingsley had been their friend and mentor for years. They had followed him without question after Dumbledore died and celebrated his rise to power. For someone they cared about so much to turn on them like this, it broke their hearts.

Duo suddenly grunted. "Okay, I've got an idea," he said. "You two done?" He looked at Trowa and Ron who had barely had a chance to touch their food as they sat with their lovers.

"Duo please," Hermione said gently. "You need to eat something first."

"I'm fine," the man dismissed. "I want to give this cage thing a shot. The net says it's pretty reliable and we can have Ron beef it up with magic."

Hermione turned pleading eyes on Wufei and Heero. The two nodded and set their work aside.

"You will eat exactly three sandwiches and consume one entire glass of water before returning to your mission," Heero stated. Duo stared at him.

"Heero, don't order me around."

"It is for your own good," Wufei said. "You have lost weight and are pushing yourself too hard."

Duo glared at him. "Back off, Wufei," he growled. "I know my own limits and I'm doing just fine."

"You need to rest," Heero insisted. "You will be no good to anyone passed out from exhaustion and starvation."

"I know this is hard for you..."

Duo stood suddenly, kicking the table out of anger. He glared at Wufei with anger blazing in his eyes. "Fuck off. You don't know shit, Wufei. All of you," he glared at everyone in the room. "You all get to come home to your lovers."

He stormed from the room without another word, leaving everyone with heavy hearts. Ron took another bite of food but it tasted like paper in his mouth. He sighed and leaned back, staring at his bracelet. Harry's green stone was dim but it was still glowing.

Little Teddy had watched the whole exchange from his place snuggled on Trowa's lap. He wiggled down and grabbed a sandwich from the plate and followed after Duo. The boy hurried up the stairs, knowing his Uncle Duo liked to hide on the roof when he was upset. Uncle Harry liked to do the same thing.

Teddy crawled through one of the guestrooms that wasn't being used and pushed open window, climbing onto the sill. He heard Duo's angry voice snap at him.

"Fuck off, Heero."

"You shouldn't swear!" Teddy scolded. "Swearing's bad!"

Duo looked up in surprise at the tiny voice and sat up quickly. He steadied Teddy as the little toddler carefully joined him on the roof.

"Careful kiddo, you shouldn't be up here."

Duo lifted the little boy into his lap and kept a tight hold on him so he wouldn't fall. Teddy made himself comfortable before pulling out a squished sandwich from his pocket.

"Here!" he shoved it towards Duo's mouth. "Eat!"

Duo flinched away and gently pushed the boy's arm down. "Knock it off, kiddo."

"But I have to make you eat!"

"Have to?"

Teddy nodded furiously. "Uncle Harry _loves_ you. He's gonna be super sad if he comes home and your dead cuz of not eating your sand-witch."

"I'm not going to die because I skipped a meal," Duo said, trying to be patient.

"Five meals," Teddy corrected. He held up his hand. "You've skipped eating once for each finger, which is five. That's a lotta meals." Teddy held the food out again. "Please eat, Uncle Duo, for Uncle Harry?"

Officially impressed with the little boy's ability to guilt trip him, Duo took the sandwich and ate. Teddy squealed in delight before snuggling close to Duo, who couldn't help but smile. The two sat on the roof together, watching the sun move across the sky.

"You'll find him," Teddy whispered so quietly Duo almost missed it. "You'll find Uncle Harry and bring him home." He sniffed. "I just know it."

Duo pulled the little boy closer to him and kissed his head. "You're damn right I will, Teddy-bear. Just you wait and see."

Teddy smiled, hugging Duo fiercely.

*!*!*

Lord Christoph Van Vitrol, High Lord and current ruler of the Veela Nation, walked down the hall of the top floor of his expansive mansion located in the remote country side. The rooms he passed were shut up and the furniture was charmed to not collect dust or fade in the sunlight. He didn't often use this home and had only returned to it at the beginning of the month. Very few people knew it existed and even fewer knew where to find it.

The Lord walked with purpose down the hallway, feeling magic all around him. The hair on his arms stood up and his instinct to transform to protect himself was strong. Christoph smirked. His young husband-to-be was weakening. Normally the hostile magic lashed out the moment he stepped onto the floor. Now however, he was nearly to the door before he could feel the power.

Christoph entered the room, dismissing the single servant who had been caring for Harry Potter's unconscious form. The boy was dressed in simple green silk pajamas. His black hair was a mess but, Christoph mused, it always was. His glasses were on the bedside table and the teen looked peaceful in his sleep.

Christoph sat on the bed, staring at the young man. On his wrist was a bracelet with three colored stones. He scowled at it. They had tried to take it off the first day Harry had arrived but discovered that was a mistake. The bracelet was charmed to release a small explosion if anyone but the owner attempted to remove it. They had not been able to find away around this so the bracelet remained.

"You're power is weakening, Harry," Christoph spoke out loud. "Soon you will be forced to wake up." He reached out and touched the boy's face, only have Harry's magic lash out and cut his finger. Christoph leaned back, wiping the blood away calmly.

"Fight all you want, soon you will be mine." He smirked as he watched the teen sleep. "Are you hoping your friends will find you before then? Perhaps that muggle man you are so attached to? What is his name... Duo?" Christoph laughed. "Oh yes, I know all about him. They've been hunting my people for awhile now. I have them thinking we're hiding in the mountains but you and I both know that's not true."

Harry's magic tingled in the air. It didn't like Christoph. It wanted him to leave.

"Muggles are so easily fooled," the Veela ruler mused idly. "They are weak minded and easy to control. Why someone as powerful as yourself would chose such a pathetic creature for a mate, I do not understand. Though it does not matter, I suppose. I will be forcing through our marriage soon. You're Minister is like putty in my hands. He doesn't have the strength to resist me. A few well placed criminals and veiled threats against his precious wife and daughter was all it took."

Christoph stood, smiling down at the sleeping teen.

"Very soon you will be mine, Harry Potter, whether you want to be or not. I suggest you stop resisting and accept your fate. Life will be so much easier for you if you do."

Harry's magic lashed out again but Christoph answered with his own. He snapped his fingers and the magic flinched away, gathering around Harry's sleeping form to protect him. The Veela smirked and turned away.

"It won't be long now, dear Harry."

Christoph turned and left the room. He looked down at the servant, a hunched back man with dull hair and eyes. He had had his tongue removed years ago for speaking secrets and now lived in seclusion in this mansion. He never disobeyed and always came when Christoph called.

"Prepare him for the wedding ceremony," the Veela ordered. "I want to perform it before he awakens."

The hunchback nodded and shuffled into the room. Christoph turned and walked down the hall, his mind going over his plans. By threatening Kingsley's family, Christoph had forced the Minister to give him Harry Potter. The Veela lord was well aware how lucky he was that this had happened at all. The only reason Kingsley was able to "give" him Harry was because Harry was still nineteen. By law, a wizard came into their inheritance at age seventeen. If there was no head of house, as was the case for young Harry Potter, the wizard would immediately be given their title and become Lord of their family and house.

But there was a loophole.

It was a small loophole that wasn't exploited often and hadn't been used in nearly a century. If a young person was granted Lordship of his (or her) family and someone else from that family challenged it and declared them unfit, the Ministry of Magic was allowed to step in and, in extreme circumstances, take that Lordship away.

Now Harry Potter had no family to contest his title and that was where the threatening had come in. Obviously no wizard court would ever willingly take away the boy's title or political power; he was far to precious to the wizards. So Christoph had to act carefully. He threatened the Minster's family but even then, Kingsley did not back down. The man was fiercely loyal to his young friend and so Christoph had been forced to take drastic measures.

Using his considerable influence and power, the Veela Lord had backed the Ministry into a corner and gave them no choice but to sign a temporary peace treaty. One that included the old pureblood marriage contracts. During that month Lord Christoph had sat back at watched as Kingsley desperately tried to find a way around the old contracts while also trying to hide his family from harm. By the end of the thirty-one days though, both Kingsley and Christoph knew who had won.

With his only other choice being to reinstate the marriage contracts and risk his family being harmed, Kingsley had secretly contested Harry's lordship status and had it removed. The boy was still the heir to his family and could access all his accounts and estates, but he was, technically, no longer the leader of his house. At least, not until he turned twenty-one and could petition the Ministry.

Now that Harry was only an heir and not the Head of the Potter and Black families, Christoph could enact the marriage contract. With no head of the Potter house, there would be no one to contest the marriage and put a stop to it, thus securing Christoph's control over the teen.

The plan was perfect. Once the two were married, Christoph would have control of all of Harry Potter's finical and political power. He would have the entire might of the Veela nation behind him and now would have two very influential wizard names added to his own. That alone would make him a nearly unstoppable force in the wizard ministry but just in case anyone still tried to oppose him, Christoph would have Harry Potter himself. Their precious Savior, their beloved Chosen One, their boy-who-lived... Christoph's living insurance policy. No one would dare go against him while he controlled the boy so thoroughly.

Everything was coming together nicely. Harry Potter was the only living person who had the power to defeat the Veela ruler but once the two were married, he would never be able to harm him. And now, with the Minister of Magic and the Savior out of the way, Christoph would be free do as he pleased.

**A/N: So a couple people thought Trowa letting Harry cast magic on him was too trusting. First, he didn't realize what was happening when Harry first cast the spell, so he didn't react quickly enough to stop it. Second, I think the guys trust him. Trowa and Duo really do trust Harry. Trowa believes in his brother's good heart and Duo's freaking in love with him. If they were patient enough to wait for him to tell them his secrets, that right there proves they trust him.**

**Also, Christoph is the ruler of the Veela nation, which is basically like being a King. Harry may be very influential and loved, but he does not command an entire race like Christoph does. Therefore Christoph is more politically powerful.**

**Okay so, lots of notes this chapter but there was a lot to address. Comments and questions are welcome as always. I hope I covered everything and explained how all of this trouble came to be. I know everyone's going to have questions about Trowa's role and the inheritance and stuff but all of that will be answered in the future. Gotta have some mystery, right?**

**Please review, thank you!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Date Posted: May 14th 2015**

**A/N: So the days of updating every couple of days seem to have come to an end. I'm sorry. It bums me out too. But I've been bumped up to full time at work and my lovely boyfriend wants to play Hyrule Warriors all the time (something I won't say no to because I _love_ that game) so that cuts into writing time a bit. I'll do my best to go back to weekly updates, if not faster.**

**So not much action in this chapter but it's got some important info. It's also a little on the short side. I hope you guys like.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Twenty-Two:**

Hermione was once again sitting at a press conference. Kingsley was delivering a speech, repeating everything he had said the day before and answering questions. Hermione was about ready to stand up and leave but someone caught her eye. Percy Weasley was standing behind Kingsley, staring straight at her. When he noticed Hermione looking at him he glanced away. The girl followed his gaze and spotted Adele standing off to the side. The woman discreetly waved her hand at Hermione and disappeared down a hallway.

Confused, Hermione slid from her seat and ducked away from the crowds. She cast a notice-me-not charm on herself as she hurried down the hall where Adele had gone. There was a door at the end and Hermione drew her wand before entering.

The room was empty except for Adele. The woman looked at her with wide, sad eyes. "Oh Hermione!" she exclaimed and ran forward. Hermione took a step back, raising her wand and stopping Adele before the woman could hug her.

"What do you want?" she asked coldly.

Adele looked surprised for a moment before hanging her head. "I guess I deserve that," she said. "From your point of view, we're the bad guys."

"You sold Harry into what amounts to slavery!"

"No, please, you have to believe me! We didn't know anything about it. Kingsley made sure no one but he knew about what would happen to Harry."

Hermione didn't care. "What do you want?"

"To show you this." Adela waved her wand a long parchment appeared. "This is why Kingsley did what he did. This is the original copy of the Treaty, before it was changed to include Harry."

Hermione frowned and took the parchment. A passage was highlighted and Hermione read the contents quickly.

"The Marriage Contracts from years ago were never actually made illegal," Adela explained. "Both Veela and Wizards simply stopped enforcing them and everyone thought that they were no longer a binding contract. But that's wrong, the contracts are just as legal now as the day they were written."

Hermione nodded slowly. It was a long and tedious process to make a powerfully binding contract illegal. It would have been much easier to simply ignore them rather than go through the court process of ending them. If both sides agreed to never use them again, Hermione could see the lawmakers simply choosing to be lazy rather than doing things properly.

"The Veela discovered this and decided to use it to their advantage. The temporary peace treaty was actually a ploy by them to prove how much they could disrupt our lives. They were showing to Kingsley that they could bring the wizards to their knees without ever casting a single curse."

"What does this matter? The contracts are gone now."

"But that's just it!" Adele exclaimed. "They're not!" She gestured wildly at the paper. "Look at the contract. This was the original. It states clear as day that with the signing of this treaty any and all marriage contracts would be reinstated. It would take years and years to get both the Veela and wizard courts to overturn them all. And that's assuming we could without things breaking down into full out war!"

Hermione looked up from the document as Adele continued quickly, desperate to make the girl understand.

"Kingsley knew we couldn't fight another war. The Veela are not nearly as weak as they want us to believe. Just the opposite really; we've had Auror reports tell us they've been hording supplies and training their people in secret."

"So if Kingsley signed the treaty and brought the contracts back, it would have lead to war because our people would revolt. But if he didn't sign the contract it would have also lead to war because the Veela would have attacked us for not signing a declaration of peace."

Adele nodded. "Exactly! That's when Lord Christoph came to Kingsley in secret and said that if the Minister gave him Harry then he would drop the rest of the contracts. The Minister didn't have a choice. No matter what he did, there was going to be war."

"But why Harry?" Hermione asked. "Why does Christoph want _him_ so badly?"

"The best Kingsley could figure was because of his famous status. Harry is the last Potter, which makes him the last of a great pureblood family. Not to mention all the money and land Harry owns _and_ he has a very strong claim to the Black estate because of Sirius Black's will. That is a lot of political and finical power that Harry wields.

"Then there's also the fact that Harry is so beloved and famous. There are wizards out there who would do absolutely anything for no other reason than the Savior said to. They could force Harry to convince the wizarding world to do nearly anything."

Hermione scowled. "Hmph, well we took care of half of that, at least." Christoph would never get Harry's money or lands. It all belonged to Trowa now. There was a snag with the paperwork but Hermione was confident they would overcome it.

"What do you mean?"

She scowled. "That's none of your business. So to stop us from going to war, Kingsley chose to sacrifice Harry for the greater good."

Adele nodded sadly.

"Why didn't Kingsley tell us this himself? Why send you?"

Adele bit her lip. "Because he can't. The Veela are still watching him carefully. If he so much as breaths a single word of this to the press they've sworn –in secret, of course- that they'll break the contract and kill Harry."

"Kill Harry?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Once Lord Christoph marries him, he won't need Harry alive to get his fortune and lands. He'll still _want_ to keep Harry alive to exert influence over the wizards, but it's not necessary. If Kingsley does anything to try and undermine the treaty, Harry's life will be forfeit."

"So Kingsley sacrificed Harry and is now trying to protect him?" Hermione demanded. "What's wrong with him? Why didn't he just come and tell us all of this? We could have helped! We could have planned and been prepared! Harry wouldn't be missing and in Merlin knows what kind of trouble!"

Adele looked upset. "He's trying, Hermione! Please believe me! He's barely eating anymore and he's had to send his family away to keep them safe! The Veela threatened to kill them if he disobeyed! He feels so guilty for how things have turned out that he's working himself night and day to try and find a way to help Harry!"

"Well tell him to stop," Hermione snapped. "He's 'helped' everyone enough. We'll find Harry ourselves and we'll save him, you can count on that!"

Hermione turned on her heel but before she could vanish, Adele jumped forward and grabbed her arm. "Hermione wait, please! There's more!"

Hermione growled and shook herself free. She crossed her arms and glared at the woman she had once considered a friend.

"I know... I know we have no right to ask you this but..." Adele's eyes filled with tears and her voice cracked slightly. "We need help. Kingsley sent his wife and daughter away to protect them but I've just gotten a coded message from one of the Aurors guarding them. Someone in the group is a spy. He doesn't know who it is and took a huge risk by warning me but one of the guards is working for Christoph. If Kingsley steps out of line, his family will be killed."

Hermione's glare lessened slightly. Kingsley's wife, Katherine, and his daughter, Rose, we very kind people. The few times Hermione had met Katherine the woman had been warm and welcoming. She was an amazing cook and loved to feed people. Little Rose was slightly older than Teddy and had been taught proper manners by her parents. She was always smiling and laughing and Hermione had secretly hoped that if she and Ron ever had children, they'd have a daughter just like her.

"Kingsley can't do anything while his family is in danger," Adele continued. "And if he tries to take them from the safe house, it will tip the Veela off that he knows there's a spy and they might hurt them."

"So why come to me?" Hermione asked in a quiet voice. She looked away, scowling.

"We can't do anything without being seen," Adele answered. "If Kingsley disappears from sight for even a moment, the Veela could kill his family. If we try and move them somewhere safe, the Veela could kill them. If we try and send our people in..."

Hermione held up a hand. She understood the situation. "So you're asking for our help because no one's watching us. We don't work for the ministry anymore."

Adele nodded. "I know we have no right to put this on you but we're desperate. Katherine and Rosy don't deserve this."

Hermione silently agreed. She clutched the original copy of the treaty and vanished before Adele could stop her. Hermione appeared in Quatre's home and stormed into the sitting room, where all the men and Andromeda were gathered, going over maps of the mountain ranges. They looked up in surprise as she stormed in.

"Hermione?" Ron asked carefully. "What's wrong?"

"Adele she..." Hermione was so mad so could barely speak. "She corners me and tries to explain why Kingsley did what he did, tries to _justify_ it! Hah! As if I care that he's losing sleep! He should be! He just sold Harry like like... argh! And then she has the gall to ask for help!" Hermione threw the old contract down before stomping outside to the terrace, slamming the door shut behind her.

Ron stared after her a moment, debating if he should go talk to her now or wait for his girlfriend to calm down. Quatre cleared his throat and Ron glanced at him. The blond shot him a look that clearly said to go outside and the redhead sighed.

"I'll uh, be right back guys," he muttered as he stood.

As soon as Ron walked outside, they could hear Hermione yelling. Even after he shut the door the girl's muffled voice continued.

"You know, it's been a long time since we've assassinated someone but I'm pretty sure I still remember how to do it," Duo commented casually.

"It is a tempting idea," Trowa admitted. "I've been toying with it in my mind for a while now."

"If Harry dies or is harmed irreparably we will do so," Heero stated. "Until then we will continue on as we are."

The other's nodded in agreement and let the matter drop for the moment.

*!*!*

Ron sat next to Hermione on a stone bench out in Quatre's garden. After calming herself down, Hermione had explained everything Adele had said to her. Now the two sat quietly, holding hands and processing. They each knew what they had to do. There was was no way they could leave Katherine and Rosy in danger, the two didn't deserve that. Rosy especially, she was just a little girl. But this didn't mean their anger at Kingsley hadn't lessened and even though they knew they would save his family, what they did afterwards was still up for debate. After all, as far as they were concerned, most of this trouble could have been avoided if Kingsley had been honest with them from that start.

"What do we tell Duo and the others?" Ron asked.

"The truth," Hermione answered immediately. "I think if we tried to cover this up they would lock us away and throw out the key."

"You think they'll try and stop us?"

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. It doesn't matter, we're going to save them."

Ron nodded. He stood, pulling Hermione to her feet. "Once Kingsley's family is safe, he'll be able to move freely again, right?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, the Veela shouldn't have anymore control over him."

"I'm worried about what that'll mean."

"So am I."

The two walked together back to the main house. The sun was beginning to set and the garden path was lit with soft lights. Ron pushed the door to the living room open. Andromeda and Teddy were gone, probably upstairs for bedtime. The pilots were scattered about the room, working on various things. They stopped when the two wizards entered and looked at them.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Quatre asked politely.

The girl shook her head and sat down with Ron. They stared at the group seriously. Without prompting, the five pilots set their work aside and focused on Hermione, listening intensely as she explained everything Adele had told her and about Kingsley's family being in danger.

When she finished, Duo spoke first. "You want to go rescue them."

They both nodded.

"You want to help the guy who sold your best friend."

"Katherine and Rosy didn't do anything wrong," Hermione insisted. "They shouldn't be punished. Rosy especially! She's only four-years-old! No matter what he father has done, she shouldn't be hurt for it."

"There is one more thing," Ron said. "If we're understanding the situation right, then if we save his family, Kingsley will be free to act. The Veela won't have anymore control of him."

"With Kingsley free, you don't know how he'll act," Quatre put it. "You don't know who's side he's on."

"A month ago I would have insisted he was on our side," Hermione said sadly. "I would have been angry at anyone for implying anything different. Now I've lost all trust in him. I want to believe he only did this because he was forced to but..." she trailed off, looking down at her hands.

"We'll rescue them," Heero decided firmly. Everyone turned to him in surprise.

"You want to help the guy who sold Harry?" Duo demanded.

Heero turned to him. "We will rescue them and bring them here."

"Shacklebolt has proven he will do anything for his family, so if we have them with us, he will not dare move against us," Wufei caught on.

"You want _us_ to take hostages? Won't that make us the bad guys?" Quatre pointed out, his face thoughtful.

"We won't kill them," Heero pointed out. "It will be for show."

"Shacklebolt doesn't know us, so he does not know what we are capable of or how far we are willing to go," Trowa mused. "He will not know that in truth, his family is safe."

"He knows us," Hermione pointed out. "Kingsley knows we would never hurt them."

"Then you will have to act as though you have no say in the matter or knowledge of his family's whereabouts," Quatre said. "You two will have to act like we rescued them and then hid his wife and daughter from everyone, yourselves included."

"It seems so cruel, using his family against him like this."

Duo glared at Hermione. "I can think of something else that's just as cruel." Hermione looked away and Duo turned to the group. "Why should we waste our time with this guy and his family? Having control over him is pointless; he's already proven he's weak. We should be focusing on finding Harry. I'm starting to think they're not in the mountains at all and have been leading us on."

"The Minister might have information on the Veela that we do not," Quatre pointed out.

"There's also another reason we might need Kingsley," Hermione spoke. "He can declare Trowa the head of the Potter family."

Everyone turned to her in surprise. "I thought Trowa already is," Quatre said. "Isn't that what your plan B was?"

"Well that was the plan," Hermione agreed. "But it hit a snag."

"The goblins told me about it the last time I was at Gringrotts," Ron explained. "Our plan was to give everything to Trowa and make him the Head of House but until the paperwork started to get processed we didn't know it wasn't that simple."

"Trowa is an Evans," Hermione took over. "If the entire situation was normal and Harry was here, Harry would be given the title of Lord over Trowa because he's a Potter. Obviously the situation is not normal. Harry advocated his right to be Lord Potter and instead gave it to Trowa, however, because Trowa is not a Potter by blood, he can't just claim the title outright."

"You have to have the blessing of the other family members, which you've got since Harry gave it to you," Ron said. "And we thought that was all you needed. But..."

"But," Hermione spoke again. "Because you have no blood ties to the Potter line, you need to be approved by not only the family but the government as well."

"It's an old rule," Ron finished. "To try and make sure the family isn't being forced to pick someone as their head."

"You mean the Ministry... Shacklebolt," Trowa stated. "He could interfere with my becoming the Lord Potter."

"He can either stop it or push it through," Hermione confirmed.

"Then rescuing his family and bringing them here is important so that Trowa can be named the Lord," Wufei summarized. "What happens when Trowa is recognized officially by your government and all others as the Lord Potter?"

"He can contest the marriage contract," Hermione said. "He can state the terms were unsatisfactory and force it to open negotiations. If Christoph truly wants Harry, he'll have no choice but to talk."

"But we've gotta do this fast," Ron put in. "The fact that the two aren't married yet means Harry found a way to resist on his own. If they get married before Trowa can contest the contract, there'll be nothing we can do."

"If we can control Kingsley, he can bypass all the loops and paperwork we've been fighting with and just sign Trowa as the Lord Potter," Hermione finished.

"Okay," Duo spoke. "So we 'rescue' this guy's family and bring them here and then use them to make Shacklebolt make Trowa the official Lord Potter and then Trowa declares the marriage contract a bunch of bullshit and puts a stop to it."

Hermione and Ron nodded. "That's the plan."

"Do you know the location where the two are being kept?"

"Adele will know," Hermione answered. "I'll find out from her."

"Go now and get any information you can," Heero ordered. "We will prepare for the mission and move out as soon as you return."

Hermione nodded and stood. "The safe house is going to be heavily guarded. Ron, I have a few books upstairs that deal specifically with wards and how to break them."

"I'll get them," Ron promised. "Damn, wards are Harry's specialty, not mine."

"We'll manage."

Hermione vanished as the six men began to prepare for their "rescue" mission.

*!*!*

Lord Christoph once again stood at Harry's bedside. This time he was not alone. His sister, Adeline, stood to his right while Lord Nicolas was at his left. Before the three stood an old woman who was slightly hunched with age. Her skin was wrinkled and her once vibrant gold hair had turned gray. Her name was Sophia and in her youth she had been one of the most sought after woman in the history of Veela. Now that she was aged and her looks had left her, she kept to herself, only leaving her home when the ruler of the Veela called for her.

"I stand here before two betrothed with two witnesses to bind together these souls," she spoke, her voice raspy. "Do you, High Lord Christoph Van Vitrol of the Ancient Veela City Vitrol; Master of Magic and current Ruler of the Veela Nation, take this wizard to be your soul bonded mate for as long as both of you shall live?"

Lord Christoph nodded. "I do."

"And who will speak on behalf of the wizard?"

"I will," Lady Adeline stated. "I do so with power granted to me by the treaty signed between the wizards and Veela race. The engagement ring he wears marks him as my family and I speak for my family."

"Very well," the woman agreed, continuing. "Do you, Harry James Potter, Lord Savior, The Chosen One, The-Boy-Who-Lived, Master of the House of Black, and High Lord of the Ancient Potter name, agree to be soul bonded to this Veela so long as you both shall live?"

Lady Adeline opened her mouth to speak but suddenly erupted into a coughing fit. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath, attempting to speak again. This time her throat closed up and she gasped for air, stumbling back into her brother.

"What is this?" Christoph demanded. He looked at Harry but the teen's magic was lying dormant, nearly used up. He shouldn't have the strength left to stop the ceremony, which was why they had chosen to perform it now.

"Let me see," Lady Sophia ordered, reaching out to Adeline. The Veela woman stepped forward and flinched slightly when Sophia grasped her chin harshly. She turned her head side to side. "It is magic that prevents her from agreeing on the boy's behalf."

"But how?" Nicolas demanded. "Surely this boy's magic is drained by now! He's been this way for over a month!"

"It is not _his_ magic that interferes," Sophia answered gravely. "It is the head of his family. The head of the Potter household has not given their blessing for this union, therefor the magic refuses it."

"Harry is the head of his household and we have permission to speak on his behalf," Christoph argued.

"No, he is not. I do not know who is, but it is not this boy." She released Adeline and turned to the ruler. "You have two options, my Lord, you may find the Head of the Potter house and get their agreement to the union, or we may continue with the ceremony but instead of binding your souls, merely marry you on paper, legally."

"No, we must bind our souls so that Harry can never fight against me and can be bent to my will. As of now the ring prevents him from fighting but he's already proven he can overcome the pain it inflicts. We will not be able to control him if we do not bind our souls together." Christoph scowled. "How can we discover who the head of the Potter house currently is?"

"The Goblins at the bank will have records," Adeline suggested.

"They won't be likely to help us," Nicolas pointed out. "Not since that _incident_."

Christoph growled at the reminder of the foolish group of rogue magical creatures that dared to oppose him. Nearly a week ago his people had found their camp and ambushed the group, killing nearly half the members. Unfortunately most of those killed had been goblins. They were a fowl and ugly race in the Veela's mind and Christoph would not shed a tear if they vanished from the face of the Earth.

"We can not go ourselves. We must send someone who can be trusted," Christoph mused. "I do not want Kingsley knowing of our plans. The foolish wizard still has hope he can free his family and defeat us."

"The secretary," Nicholas suggested. "She is known as a friend to the Savior. We can cast the Imperious Curse on her and make her get the information we need. Afterwards we will erase her memory so no one will be the wiser."

Christoph thought it over before nodding. "Go now," he ordered. "We must get this taken care of as quickly as possible." He glanced at Harry's sleeping form. "Time is running out. When his magic can no longer support his life, Harry will awaken, and he will not be so easily controlled."

"I will not be able to speak on his behalf, either," Adeline pointed out. "He'll be able to speak for himself."

"And I think it's pretty obvious what will come out of his mouth when he can," Nicholas muttered. He bowed to the ruler. "Excuse me, my Lords, I will take my leave of you now."

"Be quick, Nicholas," Christoph ordered.

"Yes, your Majesty."

**A/N: I smacked myself in the nose today at work and now my nose looks weird and hurts. :( Sad me. Lol**

**I love the line "I still remember how to assassinate someone" by Duo. It made me giggle to write it.**

**So it's finally time to get out of this strange limbo the story is in. The next chapter should be fun. I hope so anyway. We're going to have Heero and the others fighting wizards yay!**

**Well everyone, questions, concerns, comments? Let me know!**

**Thanks for reading and please don't forget to REVIEW!**

**(P.S. I'm sorry I'm bad at responding to reviews but please know I love and appreciate each and every one of them.)**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: We've reached 400 reviews! Thank you all so very much! I'm sorry it took me to long to get this chapter out but my creative atmosphere has been ruined. It's really hard to write and think things out when there's always someone around trying to talk to you. I do my best work when I'm home alone and I don't remember the last time I got time to myself.**

**With that said, thank you again for all the reviews! Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

None of the muggles liked apparating. They were mostly used to it by now but the uncomfortable feeling of being squished through a small tube still made the five uncomfortable. They also didn't like how it took two trips to transport everyone but neither Ron nor Hermione trusted themselves to apparate more than two people at a time without "splinching" them. Once arriving, Hermione went back for Quatre and reappeared a moment later with the blonde.

They were standing in an open field. Healthy green grass stretched as far as the eye could see. Mountains were far off in the distance. The sun was just starting to set as the group looked around.

"There's nothing here," Duo pointed out.

Hermione pulled out a piece of paper. "Kingsley is the secret keeper for his family's house. Adele told me he wrote this himself. Let's see if she was telling the truth." She read the paper out loud. "_My family is hidden in the place my father loved._"

As soon as she finished speaking the surroundings changed. A large three story home appeared. A white fence surrounded it along with a medium sized garden. The garden was well cared for and had a vegetable patch in the front. A cobbled path lead to a wooden porch with a swing. Lights were on in the house but no one was outside.

"Works," she said and handed the paper to Ron who read it quickly.

"What works?" Wufei demanded. "Nothing happened."

"Here," Ron said and handed the paper over. "You have to read it yourself for the Fidelius Charm to reveal to you."

The muggles did as told and stood in shock for a moment as the house appeared before them. Heero recovered first and cursed.

"We are standing in the open!" he hissed.

The others immediately moved, grabbing Ron and Hermione and dashing behind a couple of large bushes. They crouched low on the ground, listening closely.

"They would have come out by now," Hermione pointed out quietly. "No one's probably paying attention."

"They don't have guards posted while _guarding_ a place?" Quatre asked.

"That's what the Fidelius Charm is for," Ron answered.

"You wizards rely way too much on your tricks," Duo grumbled. "So what now?"

Heero checked his gun, making sure it was loaded with rubber bullets and the safety was off. The other's followed suit while Hermione and Ron drew their wands.

"Duo, Granger, and Quatre, with me," Heero ordered. "Wufei will lead Weasley and Trowa to the back. Wufei's team will act as decoys while my team locates the target. Our primary objective is the rescue of the Shacklebolt family. Our secondary object is to locate and capture the imposter for interrogation."

"Confirmed," four voices answered quietly. Ron and Hermione nodded.

"Let Ron and I lead the way," Hermione requested. "If there are magical traps, we'll be most likely to spot them."

Heero nodded. "Agreed. We will wait exactly two minutes for Wufei's team to get into position before moving in."

Wufei nodded and the three ran from the cover of the bushes. They vanished from sight behind the back of the house. While waiting, Hermione waved her wand towards the door.

"The front door has locking and unbreakable charms on it," she whispered. "But the windows on the second floor are clear."

"Why protect the first floor and not the second?"

"There's charms all around us that prevent flying," Hermione explained. "So there's no point in protecting a window no one can get to."

"It's an easy climb," Quatre pointed out.

Hermione shook her head. "Wizards don't climb. I'm surprised they bothered with extra security at all. Most don't with the Fidelius Charm in place."

The three men stared a moment before shaking their heads. To them, the idea of relying on a single form of protection was ludicrous. Their idea of proper protection involved many layers of secrets and traps, not just one really strong spell. In the short time they had been aware of the wizarding world, all five former pilots agreed on one thing; wizards were extremely arrogant. Even Ron and Hermione had more faith in their powers than the men thought was deserved.

"Two minutes," Heero called. "They should be in place, let's move."

He lead the way across the small yard to the side of the house where they crouched low against the wall. Inside they could hear soft voices but couldn't make out the words. Heero held up a finger and the other two nodded. Heero very quickly sat up and looked inside the window before ducking back down. He held up three fingers, one for each guard he saw, and then held up his pinkie, indicating there was one child in the room as well.

Quatre pointed behind Duo and the man turned, spotting some vines growing up the side of the house. He gave an experimental tug but the greenery wasn't strong enough to climb. Hermione carefully leaned over him and waved her wand, whispering a spell under her breath. The vines instantly straightened. She reached out and tugged them again, and this time they didn't give way.

Shrugging, Duo moved to the far side of the vines, away from the windows, and quickly hauled himself up. He peered into the second floor window before pulling himself onto the ledge. The window wasn't locked, which made the former-thief shake his head. Silently, he pushed it open and crawled inside.

Once he was safely in, Heero pointed Hermione to go next. The girl struggled slightly to climb the vines. She may have been in good shape but climbing had never been a strong point for her. Quatre followed closely behind her, just in case she fell. Duo helped them both into the room before Heero gracefully followed his team.

They stopped by the closed door, listening for any sound. When Heero was sure the hallway was empty, he opened the door a crack and peered out. The way was clear so he stepped out of the room, holding his gun at the ready. The hallway had three other rooms, two doors were shut, and one lead to a bathroom. They heard footsteps coming up the stairs and froze.

"I'm going to put Rosy to bed, you lot go ahead and help yourselves to more food."

Hermione recognized the voice right away. She leaned over to Heero. "That's Katherine!"

Heero nodded and pointed at the rooms. Without a word, Quatre and Duo each opened a door and slid behind it. Heero grabbed Hermione and the two ducked out of sight in the bathroom. Katherine appeared at the top of the steps, carrying her daughter Rose, who was nearly asleep. She was a plump woman of mixed ethnicity, making her skin a pretty caramel color. She had brown hair pulled tightly into a bun and was smiling serenely as she carried her daughter. Rosy had the same caramel skin as her mother, perhaps a shade lighter, and was nearly asleep in Katherine's arms.

As soon as the two passed the bedrooms Quatre and Duo were hiding in, the men silently appeared stepped her. Sensing their presence, Katherine turned around, thinking perhaps one of her guards had followed her upstairs. She gasped and stepped back in shock when she saw the two unknown people.

"Who—"

"Katherine!" Hermione hissed.

The woman whipped around and stared at Hermione in shock. "Hermione?"

"Katherine, you have to be quiet!" Hermione ordered. "Don't make a sound."

"What's going on?" the woman demanded, wearily looking at the boys around her.

There was a crash from downstairs and suddenly the sounds of fighting filled the house. A trap door in the ceiling that lead to the attic suddenly swung down. Heero mentally cursed as he had not noticed the hidden staircase. Four people, two girls and two boys, came charging down.

"What's going?" one of them shouted and then stopped. She stared at the unknown people in the hallway and Heero took advantage of her confusion to attack first. He moved forward and smacked her hard on the head with his gun, knocking her out cold.

"The bloody hell?" one of the male Aurors yelled. His partner shot a wide ranged stunner at the hallway but Hermione quickly cast a protection charm, canceling it out.

They jumped from the staircase, waving their wands and shooting spells. Quatre grabbed Katherine and jerked her into a bedroom, away from the fighting. Hermione followed, leaving Duo and Heero to fight the three wizards.

"Get the wands," Duo ordered Heero. "They're useless without them."

Fighting was extremely difficult in the tight hallway. The limited space meant the third Auror couldn't cast any spells because his two friends were standing in front of him, in the way. Heero and Duo did not have that problem. Heero ran forward, completely confident that Duo would not shoot him by accident. The two hard been partners for years and each new the other inside and out. Duo provided cover fire, not surprised when his bullets hit protection charms and fell to the ground harmlessly. The wizards were so confused by the weapon that their reaction time was slowed and Heero slammed his fist into the nose of one of the men, breaking it and knocking him out cold.

The remaining girl cast a spell that had ropes bursting from the tip of her wand. Heero tried to dodge away but ended up slamming into a wall. Ropes wrapped around his hands and he threw himself into a roll, closer to Duo. His partner ran forward and kicked out, knocking the girl's wand from her hand. She fell to the ground with a cry of surprise and he punched her hard in the face, knocking her out cold.

The last Auror dashed forward and put his wand to Duo's head but before he could say anything two wires landed in his chest and he screamed in pain as electricity shot through him, making him stumble back. Duo didn't waste time and kicked him in the head, incapacitating him.

"Good shot," he muttered as Quatre stowed his taser gun.

"Wh-what's going on?" Katherine demanded, her voice shaking as she clutched her scared daughter, cowering in the doorway. "Hermione?"

The blonde quickly turned to Heero and banished the ropes binding him before answering. "Katherine, you're in danger. One of the Aurors is an enemy in disguise. Kingsley sent us to come get you."

"That's can't be true," she denied. "Kingsley picked all seven of these Aurors by hand. They wouldn't betray us."

"Katherine, I don't have time to argue or convince you," Hermione said coldly. "You're coming with us and that's it."

"Apparate them out," Heero ordered Hermione. The girl shook her head.

"I can't, not while we're in the Fidius Charm. We have to get outside."

Heero nodded. "04, stay with them and make sure they get out. The moment you can vanish, do it. We will rendezvous with the others and clear a path." He looked at Hermione. "Is there anyway for you to tell who is the traitor?"

Hermione shook her head negatively.

"Fine. Tie them up so they can not escape and we will interrogate them all."

"Interrogate?" Katherine exclaimed, horrified.

Hermione raised her wand and ropes appeared, tying the wizards up from head to toe. She cast a blanket sleep charm, making sure they wouldn't wake up on their own for a few hours at least.

"Let's go," Heero ordered. Hermione gently grabbed Katherine's elbow and pulled her behind Duo and Heero with Quatre bringing up the rear. They stopped at the bottom of the steps and crouched behind the corner. Heero and Duo stuck their heads around the side quickly before pulling back.

"Contact Weasley," Heero ordered.

Hermione removed her bracelet and touched the red stone.

"You guys found them?" Ron's voice came from the stone.

"Yes, are you alright?"

"No one's injured but the damn Silver Trio have got us pinned in the kitchen."

"Those three?" Hermione asked in surprise. "I didn't know Kingsley trusted them so much."

"Who are they?" Heero demanded.

Hermione turned to him. "They're three of our classmates. People call Ron, Harry, and I the Golden Trio and when these three came along, they jokingly started calling them the Silver Trio because they were so much like us."

"Do you know how they fight?" Duo asked.

"Tahlia, the girl with brown hair and eyes, is the leader. She always takes point, just like Harry does when he's with us. The other girl, Zoe, she had purple hair last I knew but she changes it all the time, usually acts as the decoy and planner. And the boy, Micky, is the muscle. He's the small blonde and he's a lot stronger than he looks."

"03, did you get all that?" Duo called.

Trowa's voice echoed from the bracelet. "Yes, Ron told us everything. Are you in position to ambush them from behind?"

"Yeah, we've got your backs, just let us know when."

"Wait one minute and then attack. We will move forward from the left, your right side," Wufei stated. "The purple haired female will be directly before you, incapacitate her and we will take care of the rest."

"Confirmed," Heero answered. "Beginning countdown, now."

Duo turned to Hermione. "You need to get these two out of here. Apparate them back to the mansion and incapacitate them. Once you have, come back for Quatre and then go straight back to the house, understood."

"You mean to attack me?" Katherine exclaimed. She had been silent up until this point, trusting Hermione, but now she began to panic. "I thought my husband sent you? I'm not going anywhere with you!"

She pulled out her wand but was slow due to her daughter still in her arms. Hermione grabbed her hand and easily wrestled the wand away from her. "Katherine, we're not going to hurt you," Hermione promised. "But no, we are not on Kingsley's side, not after what he did to Harry. So I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to keep quiet."

"What do you mean after what he did to Harry? Kingsley would never hurt him! He cares for him like a son!"

Duo made an angry sound in the back of his throat and resisted the urge to turn around and shout at the woman.

"Get ready!" Heero ordered.

Hermione pointed her wand at the frightened woman. "Katherine, I don't want to hurt you but I will stun you. Do as I say and I promise you and Rosy will be fine."

Katherine looked at her wand and stared at Hermione with confusion and fear. She didn't dare fight back with her daughter in possible harm and nodded shakily. As soon as she had, Heero called for them to move. Duo and Heero ran from the steps and began shooting their rubber bullets. As with the other wizards, their protection charms stopped the bullets easily. The three turned in surprise, not having expected an attack from behind.

Trowa's group wasted no time in charging forward as soon as they were distracted. Ron waved his wand and cast protection spells over himself and the others. Heero ran towards his target and the girl fired two red spells towards him. He dodged to the side and Duo came up from the other direction, aiming a punch at the girl's face. She turned to face him, dodging the attack but leaving her back wide open. Heero aimed a well placed chop to her neck, knocking her out cold.

Trowa ran towards the leader of the three, Thalia. She turned and jumped back, blasting spells rapidly at the man. Ron's protection spell guarded Trowa from most of them but he was forced to dodge to the side because of the sheer amount of magic flying towards him. He grabbed a dining room chair and threw it in the air, letting it get hit by the battle magic while he continued forward. He disarmed the girl with a kick to the forearm and spun around quickly, roundhouse kicking her to the face and knocking her out.

Behind him Wufei and Ron attacked the last wizard, Micky. Wufei drew his sword and Ron cast a reflection spell on the blade so that any spell that hit it was bounced back to the caster. Micky's strategy was usually to overwhelm his opponent with his power but now that his spells were coming back at him, he was unsure of what to do. Wufei crashed into the inexperienced teen and knocked him down. He placed a foot on the wizard's chest and placed his blade at his throat.

"Yield," he ordered.

The teen dropped his wand, eyeing the sword wearily before glaring at Wufei. Ron stepped up behind him and Micky's eyes widened.

"Weasley?" he exclaimed.

"Hey Myers," Ron greeted somberly. "Sorry about this." He shot him with a stunner and Micky passed out.

Heero walked over to them calmly. "There are four more upstairs. Bring them down here." He looked at Ron. "How long will we have to determine who is the spy?"

The redhead shrugged. "I don't know. The fact that no one else showed up the minute the fighting started means they aren't monitoring the place. No one will noticed anything wrong until they're next check in time but I don't know when that would be."

Heero nodded and turned back to the three wizards they had just defeated. "Are there any questions you could ask these three that only they would know the answers to?"

"I don't know them that well. We just had classes together."

The others appeared from upstairs and gracelessly tossed the four wizards down onto the floor. There were seven in total who, on the outside, all looked normal. There were no outward signs indicating who could be a Veela in disguise.

"If they're using polyjuice, it'll wear off in an hour," Ron supplied.

"We don't have an hour," Wufei stated. "We must do this as quickly as possible."

"Wait, we think one of these guys is a Veela, right?" Duo spoke up, looking thoughtful. "And Veela aren't human, so do they have the same color blood?"

"They're not aliens," Ron muttered. His brother Bill would kill him if he ever heard Ron imply Fleur was an alien.

"My point is, is there some way we could test them for that."

"Hermione probably could."

"Go get her," Heero ordered. "Remain with Quatre at the mansion to ensure Shacklebolt's wife does not escape."

Ron nodded and hurried from the house. Minutes passed and the four remaining men began to get antsy. It shouldn't have taken this long for Ron to go and send Hermione back. If something had gone wrong, they would be in trouble. They were uncertain as to where they were, as the wizards had teleported them directly to their current location. Without Ron or Hermione it would take a long time to find their way back home.

Finally, the door opened and Hermione hurried through, slightly out of breath. "I'm sorry!" she gasped. "Ron told me what you wanted and I had to get potion ingredients before coming here."

She quickly set her bag on the coffee table and took out three potions filled with clear liquid.

"I only had enough stuff with me to make three, so we've got three tries to get the imposter. If we don't, I'll have to go to Diagon Alley to get more ingredients." She faced Heero, holding the vials. "If human blood comes into contact with the liquid, it will turn red, like normal. If non-human blood is added, it will turn a different color, depending on the species. Veela should turn silver or, if they're a half-breed, it will be silver and red mixed."

"So who do we try first?" Duo asked.

Heero glanced at the wizards. "Are they sufficiently bound?"

"They won't be able to escape," Hermione assured.

Duo stepped forward and stared critically at the unconscious group. There were no physical indications about who the imposter was but his instincts were directing him towards a brown haired man. He had been the first to attack when the group had snuck into the house upstairs. He was a leader and if Duo was going to pick someone to impersonate, he would pick the leader.

Three voices spoke at once. "Him!"

Hermione blinked as Heero, Duo, and Wufei and all spoke together but each pointed at a different wizard.

"Well we've got three tries," Hermione shrugged.

"No," Trowa said, causing everyone to turn to him. "It is one of the three youngest." He pointed at Micky, Zoe, and Thalia.

"Why them?" Hermione asked.

"Because they are the only ones who know Harry." Hermione looked confused so Trowa elaborated. "All the Veela have done in regards to Kingsley is forced him to sign a contract that would force Harry into marriage. As of now, the only clue we have to work with is that everything is connected to Harry. Out of this group, these three are the only ones connected to him."

The others nodded their agreement. "Wake them up," Heero ordered Hermione. "We will test them all and interrogate the imposter."

Hermione waved her wand and the three teens began to stir. As they shook off their drowsiness, Duo pulled out a small knife hidden in his boot and helped Hermione prick each of their fingers carefully. They only needed a drop of blood and Hermione set the potions on the table.

"It'll take about a minute," Hermione explained.

"What's going on?" Thalia demanded. She shook the last of the drowsiness from her mind and glared at everyone standing around her. "Who are you? Why have you attacked us?"

"How did you get in here?" Zoe added.

"Kingsley let us in," Hermione answered, turning to face the woman. Both their jaws dropped.

"Granger?" Zoe exclaimed. "So then it was Weasley I saw fighting. What the hell is going on?"

"I thought you quit?" Thalia asked. "Why would the Minister send you here and who are these guys? Why have you attacked us?"

"Because one of you is a traitor," Hermione answered calmly. "And in another moment we'll know who."

"That's ridiculous!" Thalia snapped. "The only traitor I'm looking at is you!"

Hermione watched as the three potion vials finished changing color. "No, it's Myers." She pointed at the boy, who was watching everything with cold eyes.

Instantly, Duo moved forward, fully intending to strangle the disguised Veela until he got his answers. Wufei stepped in the way and placed a hand on his chest.

"You know perfectly well that Heero is the best at interrogation," Wufei whispered. "Let him work. If his methods don't get results, you can do what you want."

Duo grumbled but relented. Heero stepped up to the tied up teen. "Where is Harry Potter?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" the imposter snapped. "You're going to be in a lot of trouble when word of this gets out! The Minister will have all of you arrested!"

Heero held out his hand. "02, give me your knife."

Duo did as asked, glaring at the blonde teen who sneered.

"What, you think I'm afraid of you?"

Heero merely placed the knife on the floor before him and stared. He locked eyes with the Veela and didn't blink, remaining silent. He didn't make a threatening gesture or say anything, merely stared. The Veela shifted, glaring back but soon becoming uncomfortable. He glanced at the people standing around, who did not speak or interfere, trying to look cocky. But every time he looked back at Heero, his smile became more and more forced. Heero wasn't doing anything, wasn't asking questions or making threats, just staring.

Heero's blue eyes were ice cold and hard as steel. His face was perfectly blank and not a single muscle moved. He held so still the Veela wasn't sure if he was breathing anymore. He looked like a statue, frozen in place as he knelt down, staring. His eyes were empty, void of all emotion and life. He looked like a dead man, just staring at nothing.

"Wha-what?" the Veela growled, annoyed when his voice shook. "Don't have the guts to threaten me?"

Heero didn't answer. He continued to stare, his eyes never leaving the imposter's face. The Veela didn't understand it. He had been captured by enemies before but none had ever just sat and... _looked_ at him. The man was a muggle, he was sure of that, perhaps muggles had different methods of torture? But what kind of torture was staring? Maybe he was preparing himself, getting ready mentally for what he was about to do. Perhaps muggle ways of torture were so brutal that the they had to shut off their minds first to be able to commit it. Maybe the muggle wasn't staring at him, but just readying himself.

A cold sweat broke out of the Veela's forehead as his imagination went wild with possibilities. Heero could cut off his fingers one by one. He could make the witch feed him a potion that would force him to transform and then they would pull his feathers out one at a time. They could use that knife to cut out his eyes so he would haven't to see the damn muggle just sitting there _staring!_ Staring with cold, murderous eyes. They weren't angry, just calculating. The muggle would take no pleasure from his pain nor would he feel guilty about causing it. He would do what he needed until he had what he wanted. Those cold eyes cared nothing for the Veela's life or suffering, only that he give him the information that he wanted.

Finally, the silence in the room was broken. Heero's voice was as empty as his eyes. "Where is Harry Potter?"

The Veela answered without thinking. He was scared, terrified of the horrible things those empty, soulless eyes would do to him. He just wanted to get away. "I don't know."

"Guess."

There was just a hint, a tiny hint, of anger in his voice when he spoke. The Veela felt his heart speed up. If the soulless uncaring eyes could hurt him without guilt, what would they be like angry? Would he continue to torture him even after the imposter had spilled all his secrets? Would they continue because he had tried to resist?

"The Lord has many houses hidden around the world that no one but his most trusted advisers know about," the imposter answered, swallowing hard. It was like the whole world had faded away and all that was left was those soulless, murderous, eyes.

"Why does he want Harry Potter?"

"Because the Savior is the only one strong enough to stop him."

"Stop him from what?"

One of the other wizards groaned suddenly as they started to come to and the spell was suddenly broken. The imposter blinked and shook his head, feeling slightly dizzy. He glared at Heero with a mixture of anger and wariness. How had this muggle, who had no magical powers, managed to ensure his mind? He wasn't beautiful like the Veelas and yet he was just as practiced at entrancing someone. This muggle was more dangerous than the Veela realized.

"Damn breeding stock!" the Veela shouted. "You'll learn your place soon enough!"

He whispered a spell under his breath and suddenly began seizing. Hermione ran forward but there was nothing she could do. The Veela was dead before he hit the floor. As they watched, his body morphed from the young teenager he'd been impersonating into a middle-aged man with chocolate brown hair and long nose. Foam spilled slowly from his mouth and Hermione shook her head, banishing the ropes still binding him.

"Suicide spell," she reported dully. "He must have been trained to do that if he got captured."

"If that guy was a Veela, where the hell is Micky?" Zoe exclaimed, staring at the dead body in horror. Hermione looked at them sadly but could offer no answers.

"What does breeding stock mean?" Wufei asked.

The witch shrugged. "I don't know. I've never heard anyone refer to muggles like that."

"Maybe it was insult referencing how many more muggles there are than magical people?" Duo suggested.

Heero stood from the body after having checked his pockets and coming up empty handed. "Search the house," he ordered. "We'll return once we've finished."

"What about us?" Thalia demanded. "Where did you take Katherine and Rosy?"

"Don't worry, they're safe," Hermione assured.

"For now," Heero stated. Hermione looked at him in surprise before remembering the plan. Heero and the others were supposed to act like they were willing to harm the two in an effort to scare Kingsley.

The men moved about the house quickly while Hermione went and packed some clothes for Katherine and Rosy. She didn't know how long they would be keeping them at Quatre's house so she took as much as she could find, enlarging a suitcase to fit everything. Everyone met back in the living room, not having found anything of interest in the home.

"Start taking them back," Heero ordered. Hermione nodded and walked outside with Wufei and Trowa first. While they left, Heero knelt down and looked Thalia in the eye.

"You will tell your boss that at the moment his wife and daughter are not in danger. If he moves against us, I will do what is necessary."

"You're going to hurt a couple of innocents?" the girl demanded angrily.

"I will do what is necessary," Heero repeated, deadly serious.

"Your boss pissed off the wrong people," Duo snapped. "Make sure he knows that."

Hermione reentered the room and walked over. "Ready?"

They nodded and she turned to the witches.

"The ropes will wear off in an hour or so. You'll be free to leave then."

"Do you have any idea where Micky might be?" Zoe asked quickly.

Hermione shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry. I hope you find him."

The three left, ignoring the angry shouts behind them. As soon as they were free from the wards, Hermione held out her hands.

"How did you make that imposter talk to you?" she asked Heero curiously.

"It is a interrogation technique based off the principals of hypnotism."

"Basically, you use your eyes and sheer will power to fuck with a person's head and make them afraid of you," Duo explained as they took her hands. "It's pretty hard and you've got to have complete silence and _really_ scary eyes."

Hermione glanced at Heero, who was as stoic as ever. Without another word, she shook her head and they vanished.

*!*!*

Miles away in a small room in a mansion surrounded by green fields, Harry groggily felt himself waking up. He blinked his eyes, which felt as heavy as lead, and looked around the room blearily. Even without his glasses he could tell the room he was in was unfamiliar. Confused, he shook his head and decided to go back to sleep. Tomorrow he would be ready to wake up, but for tonight he would continue to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: I'm not that pleased with this chapter. Like I said in the first AN, my creative atmosphere has been ruined so everything in this chapter was kinda forced. The next chapter will be more fun I think because Harry will be back and we'll start using Trowa's new found Lordship to mess with people.**

**I don't know when the next chapter will be done, but I will try to be faster. I'm sorry guys, believe me I would love to sit and write more. But getting OT at work and not getting any alone time has put a damper on things. **

**Please review, I could use the support! :)**


	24. Chapter 24

**Date Posted: May 29, 2015**

**A/N: I'm so glad so many of you liked the scene with Heero last chapter. I was actually worried most wouldn't like it or would think it was lame. Thank you all for the kind words!**

**Harry's finally back. Kinda a filler chapter but it has some fun/loving scenes between the characters. There's also a cute Teddy scene towards the end for those that like that stuff (like me, I like that stuff, lol).**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Twenty-Four:**

Hermione sighed as she shut the door to the guest room and leaned back against it. Catherine was not happy. The woman hadn't known anything about what Kingsley had done to Harry. She had thought they were in hiding because someone had issued a death threat against her husband. She hadn't known anything about the politics with the Veela and, like the rest of the wizarding world, had thought the business with the marriage contracts was over.

After explaining everything to her, the plump witch had wanted to go see her husband immediately and get some answers. When Hermione had told her she couldn't leave, the woman had looked as though she wanted to hit her.

"My husband is a good person, Hermione," she had snapped, "And you damn well know it. If he did this, it was because he was forced to and you need to forgive him so that you can work together to save the Savior."

Even though Catherine's words struck her heart, Hermione refused to budge. Her trust in Kingsley had been broken completely and it was not something that would be easily repaired. The man had lied to her face on more than one occasion and sold her best friend. Coerced or not, Hermione wasn't going to be forgiving him anytime soon.

After putting wards up around Catherine and Rose's room so they couldn't escape, Hermione warily made her way to her and Ron's shared bedroom. Downstairs she knew Duo was probably sitting in the living room, researching Merlin knew what on the computer and thinking of Harry. Trowa and Quatre were in their room, probably with Trowa brooding and Quatre trying to comfort him. Hermione noticed that Trowa kept his guard up constantly except at night. She had caught him on more than one occasion staring forlornly out the window, no doubt worrying about the little brother he barely got a chance to know.

Heero and Wufei took turns walking the house and grounds. They were fairly well hidden in the muggle world so they weren't strict with security but the two still insisted on patrolling every two hours to make sure nothing was out of place. Hermione personally didn't think that was necessary as she had pt up wards to alert them the moment any magical creature or person appeared that wasn't herself or Ron.

Hermione shut her bedroom door behind her and smiled when Ron sat up in bed. He wasn't wearing a shirt, as it was a warm night.

"How'd it go?"

"She's mad," Hermione answered. "She wants to go back to Kingsley and smack some sense into him."

Ron smiled lightly and watched as Hermione began to undress for bed. "I think we'd all like to go smack some sense into him."

"We'll have to leave Duo behind when we do," Hermione smiled. "He might hit the Minister a little _too_ hard and then we would be in a different kind of trouble."

Ron smiled and held his arms out. Hermione slipped on her nightgown and crawled into bed, snuggling up to her boyfriend. They hadn't had many nights together since Harry's disappearance, as Ron was constantly out hunting Veela with Trowa and Duo. The few nights they did spend together, Hermione cherished. She couldn't image what Duo must be going through, knowing that not only didn't he get to come home to his lover but that his lover was somewhere dangerous.

As the two snuggled together and closed their eyes each one felt their wrist warm slightly. They were both so tired after the fight that at first, they ignored it. But the warmth increased until it became hot and Ron and Hermione jolted up in bed at the same moment, realizing what was going on.

"Harry!" they screamed together and each pulled off their bracelet, stretching it wide.

Harry's face appeared in the small circle. He looked tired, as if he had just woken up, and blinked at them blearily. Hermione's eyes eagerly scanned his face, relieved when there was no sign of abuse.

"Hey guys," Harry greeted, his voice soft. He sounded tired and rubbed his eyes.

"Are you alright?" Hermione and Ron demanded together. Their friend blinked in surprise before smiling lightly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Everything's still intact. How are you two?"

"We're fine," Hermione answered quickly. "Where are you? Why haven't you contacted us?"

"I've been asleep," Harry answered honestly.

"Asleep? What does that mean?"

"It means I was asleep. When I first got here, they poisoned my food to make my mind weaker and easily controlled. I managed to resist the first time and stopped eating after that." Harry shook his head as he tried to wake up more. "I wanted to contact you both, but I was never alone, not even at night, so I couldn't."

"That's why you never answered our calls," Ron said and Harry nodded.

"After days of starving myself, I realized this wasn't going to work but I couldn't eat or drink anything they gave me because it was poisoned. So I ended up... I don't know how to explain it, really. I went to sleep one night and my magic gathered around me. It kinda flowed into me and I didn't feel hungry or thirsty anymore. It made a barrier to protect me and I just stayed asleep. My magic kept me alive and guarded me from everything while I slept."

"A healing coma!" Hermione exclaimed. "Sometimes, when powerful witches or wizards are in danger, their magic will put them into a comatose state and protect them. It also helps the body heal much faster. But I've never heard of one lasting for so long!"

"Long?" Harry asked. "How long has it been?"

"You've been missing for over a month, mate," Ron answered. Harry's jaw dropped.

"A month!" he exclaimed. "I've been asleep for a _month_? What the hell is going on?"

Ron and Hermione explained how they had been working and living with the Duo and the others. They also detailed what they had been doing to find Harry and where they were in the process of getting Trowa named the Lord Potter legally. They finished by describing the events that had happened earlier that night when they had "rescued" Catherine and Rose from the Veela.

"So you guys kidnapped them?" Harry frowned unhappily. "You kidnapped them in my name."

"Don't look at us like that," Ron snapped. "It was Heero's plan and it went perfectly."

"Of course it was Heero's plan!" Harry growled. "Neither one of you would ever plot to kidnap someone, no matter what the situation."

"We happened to agree with Heero's idea," Hermione defended. "We're not going to hurt them!"

"No, just lock them away. And for how long? Until Kingsley gives in to your demands? What if he never does? Are you guys going to keep Catherine forever?"

"Harry..."

"And what if Kingsley does help right away? You just put Catherine and her daughter through hell for nothing. If Kingsley really was being manipulated then you don't need to keep them there to get his help. And if he wasn't and he _did_ turn on us, then you're not punishing him for his action, you're punishing Catherine and Rose."

Harry stared at them both through the small bracelet.

"Heero and the others are former Gundam pilots. They used to be terrorists. They're plans are going to be much harsher and more dangerous because that's what they know. You didn't _need_ to kidnap Catherine because with or without Kingsley you'll find a way to free me. Hell, maybe I'll find a way to escape before you do. My point is, you shouldn't be going along with kidnapping schemes. Heero and the others are going to have to learn to save me by more... legal means."

Hermione and Ron looked cowed at his words and sighed. "They just know what they're doing more than us," Ron admitted. "In the war, we always knew who the enemy was and they just came charging straight for you. We didn't have to deal with this sneaking around and politics to save each other."

Harry smiled. "We just waited and kicked ass when they got there." He became serious again. "Look, Heero and the others know what they're doing but I don't want anyone becoming the bad guy on my behalf. And kidnapping people is most definitely something a bad guy does. I would know, I'm currently being held prisoner by one."

"Okay," Hermione sighed. "We'll take care of it. Do you know where you are?"

"No. They moved me when I was asleep and there aren't any windows in this room."

"Do you know anything? Have any clues as to what Christoph wants?"

Harry frowned as he thought. "I remember hearing talking around me but it's like trying to remember a dream. The more I think about it, the less I know. I think he tried to bind our souls but couldn't."

"Bind your souls!" Ron exclaimed. "That's disgusting!"

"What is it?"

"It's a permanent union between two people that connects them for eternity," Hermione explained. "It makes is so that neither person can ever do harm of any kind, emotional, physical, or psychological to the other."

"It does more than that," Ron scowled. "It also makes you completely gaga for each other. Like you're brainwashed to do absolutely anything for the other person, no matter what it is."

Harry made a face. "How does he know the spell won't backfire and Christoph won't be bent to my will?"

"Because he's already beaten you," Ron answered. "The person who _initiates_ the binding is always the strongest. It's their will that is obeyed. I mean, maybe in extremely rare cases it might have turned out the other way, but probably only once or twice."

"So that's why I'm still not married," Harry mused, looking at the silver engagement ring on his finger. "He doesn't want to just marry me, he wants to control me. Why though?"

"Because you're powerful. You have enough magic to beat him in a fight and enough political power to oppose him."

"Not anymore. Trowa's got it now." Harry shook his head. "So what's stopping him from binding our souls?"

"Trowa," Hermione answered. "Christoph can't perform the spell without the blessing of your family."

Harry grinned. "Well great! Trowa will never give his blessing so I should be okay there."

"Unless Christoph kills him," Ron pointed out.

Harry rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Unless Christoph kills him." He shook his head. "I'm so sick of all of this. Just come find me and get me out of here."

"We've been trying for the last month, Harry," Ron pointed out. "It hasn't been walk in the park."

"But now that you're awake, I think I've got an idea on what to do next!" Hermione said excitedly.

*!*!*

A few hours later it just was past midnight. Hermione woke Catherine and sent her home, asking her relay a message to Kingsley on their behalf. They would find out once and for all in the morning whether or not Kingsley was on their side. While she did that, Ron knocked softly on the door to Duo's bedroom. It opened after a moment and a Duo frowned at the redhead.

"What's up?" he asked.

Ron glanced past him into the room and noticed Teddy sound asleep on the bed. He smiled and held out his bracelet.

"I'm giving you permission to use this but it'll only work for few minutes without me around, so make it count."

Duo was confused as Ron smiled widely and handed over one of his most treasured possessions and left. Duo looked at the thing and noticed the green stone was lit up.

"Duo?" Harry's voice called from the stone. Duo felt his heart skip a beat.

"Kid?"

Laughter came from the stone. "I never thought I'd be happy to hear you call me that. I've missed you so much."

Duo quickly shut his bedroom door and sat on the bed, stretching the bracelet so that he could see Harry's face. The teen looked like he had just woken up from a deep sleep. His eyes were heavy but alert and he was smiling.

"You're okay," Duo said, sounding both amazed and relieved at once. "Where are you?"

"Not sure," Harry answered. "The room I'm in doesn't have any windows. Bed's kinda comfy, so it's not all bad, I guess."

Duo ignored his attempted at a joke. "Why haven't you contacted anyone for the past month?"

Harry quickly explained how and why his magic had put him into a coma to protect him. Duo stared at his boyfriend's image in disbelief. "You're kidding me, right? We've been busting our asses off looking for you and you've been _fucking sleeping_ this whole time?"

"Er... kinda of? I mean, technically, yes, I was asleep," Harry stuttered.

Duo nearly threw the bracelet away in annoyance but instead sat on the bed. He shook his head and a chuckle escaped his lips. "You're an ass, kid."

Harry smiled. "I've missed you."

"No you haven't it, you've been sleeping."

"Awe come on, Duo, it was the only way to protect myself. And from what Hermione told me it was a good thing because it bought us all time."

"Your friends filled you in on everything then?"

The teen nodded. "Yeah, we've come up with a plan, Hermione will fill you guys in later."

Duo snorted. These damn wizards just went and did whatever they wanted. Never mind the fact that it was Duo and his group that had been leading them and driving them. Ron and Hermione had no idea how to rescue Harry but still the two insisted in doing things how they saw fit.

"Duo, I want to apologize."

The braided man shook himself from his thoughts. "For what?"

"For putting you through this. For lying to you for so long. For everything."

Duo didn't answer as the image of Harry looked away, his cheeks flushing just slightly.

"I didn't even get to finish explaining myself or to apologize to any of you for real. I'm so sorry for lying and I'm sorry for hiding the truth about myself. Please understand, I was following orders. I was just trying to protect my world."

Duo smiled lightly. He had already forgiven Harry for the deceit but it was nice to know the teen felt bad over it. It was nice to hear him apologize earnestly.

"Don't worry about it, kid. I've been a spy more than once in my life, I understand what and why you did this. During the war I would do whatever it took to complete my mission, so I can't blame you for being the same way."

Harry sighed in relief, feeling his tense body relax. "You know, you can't keep calling me kid forever. I'm going to be twenty pretty soon."

Duo snorted. "I'll call you whatever I want for however long I want. You'll always be younger than me so you'll always be a kid as far as I'm concerned."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Fine, then I'm going to start calling you old man."

"I am _not_ an old man."

"And I'm not a kid."

They laughed lightly at their joke but Duo turned serious quickly. He frowned and studied Harry's face in the small circle.

"Are you really okay?" he asked. "Has that asshole tried..."

"No," Harry said quickly. "My magic's been protecting me while I sleep and now that I'm awake I can look after myself."

"What's stopping him from trying to drug you again?"

"Trowa. Even if he did manage to drug me and get me to agree to a soul binding, it wouldn't mean anything. Trowa's my brother so he has to approve of the binding for it to work. So so long as Trowa doesn't sell me out, I'll be safe."

"Then at least you'll be safe from that particular evil. I gotta admit kid, if I can't be the one standing in the way of you and this Christoph asshole then I'm glad Trowa is. He's just as stubborn as me." Duo frowned. "You're image is fading."

"It's the bracelet. It only works for a few minutes if Ron isn't touching it."

Duo didn't want the communication to end. He didn't want to take his eyes off Harry. For a month he had been losing sleep and worrying about his boyfriend. He didn't want to have to say goodbye so quickly.

"Duo," Harry said quickly. "I'm okay for right now. I think the plan Hermione has come up with will work. But I want you to do me a favor."

"What?"

"Take care of yourself. Please stop running yourself into the ground. And _please_ don't become a bad guy while trying to save me."

"I'm not a bad guy."

"I know that, so please don't act like one. You're not a terrorist anymore Duo, you're not fighting a war and can't go around kidnapping people. You're just... caught up in my crazy life."

Duo could no longer see Harry's face and his voice was harder to hear through the stone. Duo held it up to his ear.

"I'll do what I have to do to save you," he said. "I love you."

"I love you too. Just don't do anything you'll regret later."

The green stone stopped glowing entirely and Duo stared at it. On the bed, Teddy stirred in his sleep and he smiled at the little boy. Harry just didn't get it. Duo would do anything for those he cared about. He would never regret his actions if they brought him closer to saving his boyfriend. Shaking his head, he stood to go find Ron. He didn't even bother checking on Shacklebolt's wife as he had a strong feeling that she wasn't their prisoner anymore.

*!*!*

The next morning Heero was fuming. He stood with his arms crossed, glaring down at Ron and Hermione. Ron wasn't looking at him but Hermione was staring Heero straight in the eye, not the least bit ashamed of what she had done. She had fulfilled Harry's wish and sent Catherine and Rosy home and was not going to apologize for it.

Finally, after a very long and awkward silence, an owl flew in the window, clutching a letter in its beak. Ron stood and accepted the note before feeding Pig a treat and sending him away. He handed the letter to Hermione who opened it quickly.

"It's from Mr. Weasley," she announced. "He wants us to come to the Burrow." She held out the letter to the Preventers. "The Burrow is protected by the Fidelius Charm. Here's the pass code."

"For a type of security that's supposed to be full proof, you wizards sure do like to let a lot of people in on the secret," Duo mumbled, taking the paper and reading it over.

"We only protected it during the war," Ron explained. "We would have taken it down but it's a big pain and mum likes how it keeps the gnomes outta the garden."

"Ready?" Hermione asked and held out her hands. Heero grasped it, holding slightly tighter than necessary. Hermione shot him an annoyed look before apparating with him and Wufei. Ron grabbed Quatre and Duo and followed while Trowa picked Teddy up and Andromeda apparated them to the Burrow.

Everyone landed in the garden and were immediately greeted by the entire Weasley clan. Mrs. Weasley ran up to Ron and hugged him, exclaiming loudly about how long it had been since he'd been home. The redhead patted his mother awkwardly before the woman turned and gave Hermione the same treatment.

"Shame on you both!" Molly yelled. "What? You're all grown up and don't have time for your mother anymore? Your brothers and sister make time for me, so what's the problem with you?"

"I'm sorry mum," Ron tried.

"It wasn't intentional, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione tried. The aging woman rounded on her.

"Excuse me, missy? You have been a part of this family since you were eleven years old. You have been dating my son for nearly three years now and you still insist on being formal with _me_?"

Hermione floundered for a response, unsure of what to say.

"I have told you before, you are to call me Molly."

"Ye-yes Molly," Hermione stuttered. She shot Quatre an annoyed look when the blonde boy chuckled quietly.

Mr. Weasley stepped forward, resting his hands on his wife's shoulders to calm her down. "Ron, would you care to introduce us to your friends?"

"Oh right," Ron gestured at the muggles. "This is Heero Yuy, Wufei Chang, Duo Maxwell, Quatre Winner, and Trowa Barton. Guys this is my family... all of them. Not sure why _all_ of them are here, but this is my dad, Arthur, my mum, Molly, my brother Bill, his wife Fleur, Charlie, Percy, George, and my sister Ginny."

Hermione noticed how Heero's gaze lingered briefly on Fleur, who was so pregnant she was ready to pop. If Hermione remembered correctly, her due date was later this week. She was surprised that the woman had left home. Usually Veela preferred to stay as close to their home as possible when they were about to give birth. She also noted that Duo looked Ginny up and down briefly before dismissing the girl with a tiny smirk.

"So what's Harry gotten sucked into this time?" Ginny demanded, her hands on her hips.

"And who do we need to go beat up on his behalf?" George asked pleasantly.

Duo instantly liked the guy. Anyone willing to run headfirst into a fight for his boyfriend was okay in his book.

"That's enough you two," Mrs. Weasley interrupted. "We'll discuss it after breakfast. Ginny, Fleur, Andromeda, if you would be so kind as to help me in the kitchen. Charlie, George, go get the tables and we'll set them up on the lawn. Bill, help your wife, poor dear shouldn't be standing in her condition." She forcefully began shooing everyone towards the house. "Come along you lot."

While everyone rolled theirs eyes and grumbled, Mr. Weasley and Percy discreetly stepped aside. Once everyone was gone, performing the tasks Mrs. Weasley assigned them, they turned to the group of muggles.

"Kingsley got your message loud and clear," Mr. Weasley said. "I don't know what you did, but you made a big impact."

"He also wanted you to know that whatever it is you asked for, he'll have it done by lunch today," Percy added. "And he said to say thank you."

"Thanks Perc," Ron said. "And congrats on the promotion by the way, sorry I wasn't around to celebrate."

Percy shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

"How's Penelope?"

"Very well. She'll be over later today. I took the day off of work to be here."

"Kingsley also wants to come over," Mr. Weasley said. He noticed how everyone stiffened at his words. "I told him I would ask you first."

"What happened?" Percy asked, noticing right away how tense everyone was. "I know Harry got mixed up in this Veela business but what did Kingsley do to get you guys to turn on him?"

"He turned on us first," Ron snapped.

"I don't think it's a good idea for him to come here," Hermione admitted.

"Nah, let him come over," Duo interrupted. "I've never actually met the guy."

"Yes," Trowa agreed. "I would also like to meet the man who was foolish enough to think he had the authority to sell my family." He shifted his hold on Teddy, who was watching everyone with large, curious eyes.

"What?" Mr. Weasley and Percy said together.

"Trowa is Harry's half-brother, on his mum's side."

"What?!" they exclaimed again.

"It's a long story, dad," Ron said. "We'll explain over breakfast so everyone can hear and we don't have to tell it twice."

They nodded slowly, eyeing Trowa with interest. Finally, Mr. Weasley turned to the group at large. "Well gentlemen, any friend of my son's is a friend of mine. You're welcome in my home for as long as you want."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Quatre said, stepping forward and offering his hand. "It's an honor to be in your home."

"Hey dad, Quatre's a muggle," Ron said, smiling. Mr. Weasley's eyes lit up. "He's also been to space. Used to live there."

"Really?" Mr. Weasley exclaimed, not letting go of Quatre's hand as a large smile crossed his face. "So then it's true? Muggles have been to space? I thought my boys were just pulling my leg with their stories. What's it like up there? How do you breathe?"

Quatre was caught off guard by the questions while Ron and Hermione quietly giggled to themselves. Mr. Weasley lead Quatre towards the house, asking rapid questions about space and the colonies excitedly.

"That was cruel, Ron," Percy commented. "Dad's never going to leave him alone."

"Quatre likes people, he'll be fine."

"I'm going to go inside and help them get breakfast ready," Hermione said. "I want to talk to Fleur and get an update on the baby."

"That woman is a Veela," Heero stated. Both turned and nodded.

"She's my sister-in-law, Heero," Ron pointed out firmly. "She doesn't have anything to do with this."

"She can give us insight into her people's culture and way of thinking," Wufei said. "I will join you in preparing the meal so that I may speak with her."

Hermione shrugged and lead the way inside with Wufei following. Percy stared after them before turning back to the group.

"What have you three gotten into now? And where _is_ Harry?"

"It's a long story Percy," Ron sighed.

*!*!*

Breakfast was a loud affair. The Weasley clan was fascinated by the muggles and had a thousands questions for them, especially after Trowa admitted to being Harry's brother. They asked questions about the muggle world and Preventers and how they had met Ron and the others. After finding out that his son had been living in the muggle world, Mr. Weasley had excitedly proclaimed that their next family vacation could be to muggle London. He had wanted to ask Hermione for a tour for a long time now but had been worried it would be rude or imposing. However now that Ron knew his way around, Mr. Weasley was already planning the trip.

"Mr. Weasley," Quatre smiled, "It would be my pleasure to show you my world, in exchange I look forward to seeing all of yours. Wufei has been studying your culture and Andromeda has been very helpful but nothing quite compares to actually seeing it first hand."

Once the food was gone, Mrs. Weasley waved her wand and the dishes floated away to the sink to wash themselves. The muggles couldn't help but watch wearily, afraid that one of the plates with some food left on it might tip over and pour onto their heads.

The festivities ended when a silver light suddenly appeared in the sky. It shot down to the center of the table and the five muggles were on their feet, their weapons drawn. Hermione and Ron quickly assured them it wasn't a weapon or threat but a message. A silver ferret formed and opened it's mouth. Kingsley's voice echoed from it.

"It's finished. I've done everything that you've asked."

The ferret vanished and the Preventers slowly relaxed.

"That was a called a Patronus," Hermione explained. "Everyone has a specific animal that acts as their guardian. That was Kingsley's."

"So that message was from him? How can we be sure he's not lying?"

"Trowa just has to declare it," Ron said. "Only the Lord of the family can declare themselves the Lord. If anyone else tries to do it, their throat chokes up."

"Try," Hermione encouraged.

Trowa glanced at Quatre who shrugged. He spoke softly, "I am Trowa Barton, Lord of the Potter household."

Duo half expected some strange bolt of lightening to come down and strike his friend but when nothing did, he shrugged.

"So that's it?"

"That's a start," Hermione said. "Trowa is now the official Lord of the Potter family. Now we can begin undoing this marriage contract."

"How?" Trowa asked.

"Kingsley used his position as Minister to force the contract through without your or Harry's knowledge or permission but it still is a legally binding contract. However _you_ can contest it and say because you had no say in the signing, it shouldn't be enforced."

"What we want to do is announce to the magical world that you're Harry's long-lost brother and then you will declare publicly that the contract is a fraud and you want it disbanded."

"That will put great pressure on Christoph to meet with you to talk things over. You can also demand, as Harry's brother and the leader of his family, that you want to see him. Legally Christoph won't be able to tell you no and if he does, you simply go public with it."

"Christoph's reputation is extremely important to him," Ron finished. "There's no way he can tell you no or ignore you. His reputation will be destroyed and any good will the Veela have with the Wizards will be ruined with it."

"Why should this guy care if the wizards don't like him?" Duo asked.

"We're betting on the hope that Christoph doesn't want to fight us. You guys have to understand, Harry is beloved in the Wizarding World. We will not sit back and let the Veela take him from us."

Trowa nodded. "When do we make the announcement?"

"That's up to you guys," Hermione admitted. "Kingsley can call a press conference whenever he wants."

Duo frowned and leaned back in his seat. "So it's time we meet this Kingsley Shacklebolt in person."

The five exchanged looks and nodded in agreement. Heero turned to Hermione. "Bring him here. I do not want our first meeting to be in his territory." The girl nodded and Heero turned to Duo with hard stare. "Do _not_ kill him."

"Or maim him," Wufei added, seeing Duo's speculative look. "We do not want the wizard public turning on us because we harmed their leader."

The braided man glared before shrugging and looking away, feigning nonchalance. Heero and Wufei turned to Trowa next.

"The same goes for you," Wufei stated. "You must control yourself."

Trowa nodded, not saying agreeing to anything out loud. Quatre took his hand and gave it a supportive squeeze.

"That's total bullshit!" Teddy suddenly yelled, surprising everyone. They stared at the little boy who stood in his seat, his little hands balled into fists. "I'm gonna kick him in his stupid face!"

The woman gasped at the little toddler in shock. Hermione whipped around to Duo who burst out laughing.

"What have you been teaching him?"

"I didn't teach him that!" Duo defended.

"Children are likes sponges. They absorb everything they hear."

"In that case you should be thanking me for teaching him to be a bad-ass. Right here, kiddo!" Duo held his hand out and Teddy happily gave him a high-five. Hermione looked scandalized while the Preventers shook their heads. Quatre caught Trowa's small smile as he stared at his surrogate Godson.

"Let's get this over with," Quatre stated. "Hermione, please go get the Minister."

"He's probably in meetings right now," Percy spoke up. Quatre turned to him with a cold stare.

"I hardly think that matters. Hermione, please make it very clear that we will not appreciate being kept waiting."

Hermione nodded and stood, apparating away. Quatre turned to the Weasleys, who had been quiet until that moment.

"I realize this may be rude to ask but is there somewhere we can hold this meeting in private?"

"No way," Ginny said before Mrs. Weasley could answer. "Harry's our family too. I've got a few words I want to share with the Minister."

Quatre smiled patiently at her. "And you may have them. But we would be more comfortable talking to this man in private."

"You can use the living room," Mr. Weasley stated. He stared hard at his family. "We'll give you your privacy."

"Thank you," Quatre bowed slightly.

A moment later Hermione and Kingsley appeared. Adele followed, looking worried. Kingsley stood with his back straight and dark circles under his eyes. He didn't flinch away from the angry and hate filled glares that were directed at him but his face showed his regret.

"Weasleys," he greeted the redheaded family who did not welcome him with open arms as they normally would. Kingsley had expected that. He turned to the muggles. "Gentlemen, it's an honor to finally meet you in person. I am the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt."

The Preventers didn't answer as they stared at the dark skinned man who looked exhausted. His robes hung off his frame as if he had lost weight in a short amount of time. He looked all of them in the eye but for only a moment before shifting his gaze away. Kingsley was a proud man but no so proud that he couldn't admit when he had made a mistake.

"Let's step inside," Quatre offered, gesturing ahead of him. "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have granted us the use of their living room."

Kingsley nodded and turned to walk in to the home. Ron and Hermione followed but Wufei and Heero stopped them.

"You will both wait here."

"What?"

"We've got this," Duo muttered, walking past them.

"If anything is said that you need to know, we will tell you later," Trowa assured.

"Why can't we come with you?" Ron demanded.

"Because this is a personal matter," Quatre answered. "Please understand."

The two did not understand but stayed behind as the group entered the Burrow and slammed the door shut behind them.

* * *

**A/N: So the next chapter will start with the guys facing off against Kingsley. Aside from him getting a good sound hit, anything in particular you want said or done? Anyone interested in hearing his side of things?**

**So I got a pretty substantial raise at work, yay! Which hopefully means a little less stress and little more time for writing. I so want to write a gang fic with HP and GW where Harry and Heero are leaders of rival gangs and end up falling in love despite the violence. Lol, so lame, I know, but damn do I love cliches. :D**

**So everyone, thoughts, comments? Let me know, I love to hear from all of you!**

**Please Review!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Date Posted June 1, 2015**

**A/N: So I asked my boyfriend to leave me alone for a few hours and look what happened! You guys get an update in a rather timely fashion. :)**

**So this chapter is about nine pages but when I was doing corrections it felt like it was twelve. I feel we moved the plot along quite nicely.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Twenty-Five:**

Harry lay in his bed, wide awake and staring at the ceiling. After he had first woken from his coma, he had been exhausted. He had trouble focusing and had found his body was very weak. When he had tried to stand he'd nearly fallen because his legs wouldn't support him. After talking with his friends and moving around he began to wake up and now he was practically bursting with energy. He wanted to jump and run and move. But trapped in the moderate sized room as he was, Harry didn't have anywhere _to_ go.

He wanted to pace the room but he wasn't sure if that would alert the Veelas to the fact that he was awake. Harry wasn't ready to face his captures just yet. He had realized something as he woke up more, something that he had hidden from his friends because he didn't want to worry them. Something that worried him deeply.

Harry's magic was nearly gone.

It was still there, deep in his chest, but he couldn't draw on it. Harry doubted he could perform even a basic unlocking charm right now. He assumed that after a month of protecting him and keeping his body alive while he slept, his magic was just exhausted. It needed time to rest and recuperate. But the thought of having to face Christoph without any power to back him up was worrying. Harry hadn't mentioned this problem to his friends because he knew there was nothing they could do and making them worry more could result in the group doing something foolish. So Harry lay in his bed, hoping no one came to check on him anytime soon.

Of course, Harry's luck never went his way. It wasn't long before he heard footsteps coming down the hall. He closed his eyes and forced his body to relax while breathing evenly. Perhaps he could fake still being asleep. The door opened and Harry heard shuffling as someone entered. Whoever it was felt familiar and, for some unexplainable reason, Harry knew the person didn't mean him any harm. None the less, he kept his eyes closed and focused on his breathing.

The person shuffled around the room and came to a stop near the bed. Harry held completely still. Then, without warning, the person reached out and flicked him painfully on the ear. Not having expected that, Harry jerked away with a yell. He sat up, glaring at the hunchbacked servant. The old man made a wheezing sound that could have been a laugh and shook a gnarled finger at the teen.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded. "Where am I?"

The man didn't answer and turned. He waved his hand and the dresser near the bed opened. He began carefully rummaging through the expensive clothes.

"I recognize you," Harry said slowly. "You're the one who's been taking care of me while I was asleep. You're the only person my magic didn't attack."

The servant nodded, his thin silver hair shaking on his head.

"What's your name?"

The servant paused in his work and turned around, opening his mouth. Harry couldn't help flinching in surprise when he saw the man had no tongue. The servant grinned and went back to searching through the clothes.

"Is this Christoph's home?" Harry asked. The servant nodded absently. "Do you know how long I have to stay here?"

He received a shrug in response.

Harry stood and walked to the door but as soon as he touched the handle, a shock shot through his body. He cursed and pulled his hand away, rubbing the numb fingers. The servant wheezed again and Harry was sure the sound was him laughing.

Mr. Silent, as Harry was starting to call him in his head, finally found what he was looking for and turned. He held up a beautiful black dress shirt with gold trim and onyx colored dress pants. Over them went a forest green robe that matched the color of Harry's eyes perfectly. The clothes were obviously brand new and had been tailored to fit Harry perfectly. Harry looked down at himself and for the first time noticed he was wearing dark silk pajamas he'd never seen before. His face turned red as he realized this servant had probably been changing his clothes periodically for the last month.

Harry accepted the outfit. He supposed if he was going to face Christoph soon he should at least be dressed. It was bad enough he didn't have his magic to protect him, it would be even worse if he was wearing pajamas the whole time. Harry looked at Mr. Silent, who was waiting impatiently.

"Could you turn around?" he asked.

The man wheezed loudly but did as asked. Harry scowled and quickly changed.

"Okay, I'm done."

Mr. Silent turned around, a crooked smile on his face. Harry flushed and pointedly ignored it.

"Where's Christoph?"

Mr. Silent shrugged. He snapped his finger and a tray of food appeared on the bed. It was filled with fruits and nuts and Harry realized he was famished. The servant gestured him towards the small table against the wall and placed the food on it. He then placed a hand on the bricks and Harry watched as a window appeared.

"Is that real or an illusion?" he asked, stepping forward and looking out. A picture perfect landscape with green grass, blooming flowers, and a large pond spread out before him. The sun was shining and Harry placed a hand on the glass, feeling the warmth from outside.

"It's real," he answered his own question. Mr. Silent nodded and gestured at the food. Harry looked down at it. "How do I know it's not poisoned again?"

The man shook his head. He reached out and picked up an apple, taking a bite. Harry watched him carefully but when he showed no signs of sickness, he relaxed. He knew that the servant could have just picked the only piece of food on the tray that wasn't poisoned, but Harry needed to eat. His magic might have been sustaining him for the past month but now that Harry was awake, he would need to start eating and drinking again.

Cautiously, Harry reached out for a peach. He sniffed it and brought it to his mouth but stopped when he he noticed Mr. Silent staring at him intently. Suddenly not trusting the food anymore, Harry quickly put the peach down. The man wheezed loudly, nearly doubling over in amusement. He took the peach and bit into it, walking away from Harry, still wheezing.

Harry flushed in embarrassment, realizing the servant had been teasing him. He grabbed an apple and bit into it viciously. When he didn't feel the affects of any type of poison, Harry finally sat down and began eating hungrily. He watched as the servant picked up his discarded pajamas and began tidying the bed.

"So I guess I should say thank you for taking care of me while I've been asleep," Harry spoke around a mouthful of food. "I know you were probably just ordered to but thanks anyway."

The servant stopped and looked at Harry shrewdly. He shrugged and went back to his work after a moment. Harry sighed and turned to look out the window. The moment Mr. Silent left he would call his friends and let them know that he wasn't anywhere near any mountains. Harry could see what he thought was a city far off in the distance.

Once the room was cleaned and Harry had finished eating, the servant took the tray. He walked over to the wall and tapped it, making a door appear. He pushed it open with his foot and Harry saw a small bathroom with a bathtub.

"Thank you."

The servant nodded and shuffled from the room. He locked the door behind him and Harry turned to look out the window. As soon as his magic came back, Harry would break out of his comfortable prison. He would just have to be careful and play along with whatever Christoph had planned until then.

*!*!*

Duo was leaning against the wall, staring hard at the Minister of Magic who was seated across from him. It didn't escape his notice how Wufei had placed himself near the braided man, in case he needed to grab Duo and stop him from attacking Kingsley. Heero was closer to Trowa than usual as well, for the same reason.

The silence stretched until Kingsley began to shift uncomfortably. Duo mentally smirked while keeping his face blank. These wizards were all one-trick ponies. Take them out of their comfort zones and they were practically helpless. If you took away a wizard's wand, they were defeated. If you took away Duo's gun, he still knew how to kill you over a dozen different ways with his just his bare hands.

Trowa was the first to speak. His arms were crossed and his green eyes hard. "You have harmed my family. Normally I would not bother with speaking with you but on Harry's request we have decided to give you a chance to explain your actions. Your explanation will determine if you live or die. You have five minutes."

As Kingsley stared at the blunt man in shock, Duo smiled cruelly. This was why they hadn't wanted Ron or Hermione in the room when they spoke to the man.

"I'm sorry for what has happened," Kingsley began, "and I swear to you on my life, this was not what I wanted. Months ago the Veela came to us, demanding restitution for what had been done to them during the war. At first it was normal demands, money, help rebuilding, the return of stolen goods... However as time wore on, it became obvious that they were up to something. I become suspicious and sent undercover agents to spy on them."

Duo snorted and rolled his eyes. "Fucking one-trick ponies."

Kingsley stared at him confusion but Quatre prompted him to continue. The man did, eyeing Duo warily.

"While this was going on, the demands the Veela kept making grew more and more outrageous. I gave in to most of them because I did not wish to start a fight between our two nations. It all changed when Lord Christoph re-introduced the marriage contracts of old. He backed me into a corner and I could not stop him from putting rings on everyone's fingers.

"The contracts were iron-clad and there was nothing I could do about them. Though I worked tirelessly, I soon realized I had been beaten. I was preparing to announce to the public that we may have to engage in another war if we wanted to keep our freedom when Christoph came to me with an offer."

Kingsley stared down at his hands. He took a deep breath before looking up at Trowa. "He swore he would drop all the contracts except one, the one between his family and the Potters. If I did not interfere in anyway, he would disband the contracts permanently for all Veela and I would then be able to do the same for the wizards. If I had said no, then our two communities would have gone to war. And what the public does not know, is that the Veela are far stronger than they are letting on.

"During all this, I had been receiving reports that the Veela were hording supplies and training their people in secret. They were preparing for a fight. The wizards are still weak from Voldemort and his Death Eaters and our resources are stretched too thin. There was no way we could win and even if we could, the losses would be devastating. So with this is mind, I agreed to give him Harry."

"No matter what your justifications, you did not have the right to do this," Trowa stated coldly.

Kingsley nodded. "I had a plan. I was going to tell—ask Harry to agree to the marriage. Once they were married, Harry would be able to file for a divorce so long as the marriage was never consummated. If the marriage isn't consummated both the wizard and Veela government have to agree that it was a bad match and can annul the marriage. This process would take months but while it was happening, Harry would not be forced to live with Christoph, he could go where he chose. My plan was, while the courts argued, to build up the wizard's strength again and get us ready for a fight."

"So you planned on giving Christoph exactly what he wanted but then taking Harry away while you stalled for time and prepared to fight."

Kingsley nodded. "At the time, Harry was in the muggle world so no one knew where he was except me. So long as Christoph couldn't find Harry, he was safe. But Christoph knew this and caught wind of what I was trying to do. It was then he took my family hostage and to protect them I had to sign the contract. Even after it was done, I could no longer carry out my original plan, as he had someone with my family at all times, ready to hurt them if I made a single move against him."

He looked at the group with grateful eyes. "When you freed my family, you untied my hands as well. I know I have failed my people, myself, and most importantly Harry, but I'm ready to make up for my mistakes. I will do whatever I can to help."

Duo didn't trust the guy for a second. True he sounded earnest and his face was full of remorse but that didn't mean anything to Duo. A simple apology wouldn't be able to magically fix things. In the end, Kingsley had done what he needed to to protect his own family and Duo really couldn't blame him for that. But now Duo was going to do what was necessary to protect _his_ family.

"Will there be any contesting to Trowa being named head of the Potter family?" Quatre asked.

Kingsley hook his head. "No. I bypassed the courts and signed the documents myself. The only thing Christoph can do is demand a magical test to prove he and Harry are blood related. When it comes back positive, no one will be able to argue or take away Mr. Barton's status except maybe Harry himself."

"What is a magical test?"

Kingsley seemed surprised by the question. "It's a simple spell cast on the two people in question. They stand side by side while a third party casts the spell. Their magic is briefly given a color and if the colors match, they are blood related."

The group shifted and traded looks, all of them thinking the same thing. "What happens if one of the people doesn't have magic?"

Kingsley blinked and turned to Trowa, trying hard not to gape at him in shock. He hadn't thought about the possibility of the man not having any magic at all.

"Are you a squib?" he asked.

"I do not know."

"I can cast a detection spell on you right now and we can find out for certain," Kingsley offered, reaching for his wand. That turned out to be a mistake as all five men stood, drawing their weapons. Heero rested his gun on the Minister's temple and glared.

"If you draw your wand, we will kill you."

Slowly, Kingsley held his hands up. Wufei reached forward and plucked the piece of wood from his robes. As soon as he was disarmed, the group relaxed back into their seats, however they did not put their guns away.

"Ms. Granger can perform the spell, if you would prefer."

The five silently agreed to that but they still had other matters to discuss before calling in the their wizard friends.

"Whether or not you had a valid reason for doing what you did, you have still harmed our family," Quatre began. "Although I am fully aware the only reason we know about Harry in the first place is because you sent him undercover to spy on us."

When Kingsley tried to speak, Quatre held up his hand for silence. Heero took over. "We want to make it clear, you are not our ally and we are not yours. We currently have a common enemy that forces us to work together but this truce is only temporary."

"I'm truly sorry for what my actions have brought. I will do whatever is needed to make up for them."

"You will tell us everything and anything, no matter how small or insignificant, about Christoph and any Veela."

Kingsley nodded.

"And after this is taken care of and we have defeated the Veela, you will remove yourself from office."

The Minister looked at Quatre in surprise. "What?"

"By your own words, you are too weak to be able lead your people. You've admitted to failing them and being manipulated. You will remain in office until we no longer have use for you, after which, you will recuse yourself."

"Now wait a moment, gentlemen, I may have made some mistakes but you can not order me to abandon my office. For better or for worse, I am still the leader of my people and I will serve them so long as I am able."

"But you're not able," Duo said, stepping forward. "You're fucking weak. You couldn't even protect your own family so who the hell is going to trust you to protect theirs?"

Kingsley stood, angered by their words. "I am human, just like everyone else. I make mistakes. The important thing is that I fix them. I know what I have done to Harry is wrong but it was necessary to protect the wizards as a whole. He needed to be sacrificed for the good of all—"

Duo hit him before Kingsley could speak another word. The Minister took the blow to the cheek and crashed to the floor, smacking the coffee table on his way down. Wufei stood between him and Duo but wisely did not try and physically restrain his friend. Duo looked so furious Wufei was fairly certain he would attack anyone who tried to stop him right now.

"Harry is not your sacrifice," Trowa spoke, his voice deadly quiet. "We understand how important he is to your kind. We know why you worship him as a Savior."

Trowa stepped closer to Kingsley and Quatre shifted, ready to grab his boyfriend if he lost his temper.

"Now you need to understand, he is my brother. That is not something I take lightly. I allow very few people into my life and the ones I accept are mine forever. You're weakness has brought my family harm and you will be punished for it." Trowa knelt down, looking Kingsley in the eye. His green eyes were cold and murderous, promising a long, tortures death. "I will never again allow wizards to use my brother as their sacrifice. You will have to learn another trick because this one is no longer allowed."

Lightening fast, Trowa drew a knife and placed it against Kingsley's throat.

"And after I rescue my brother, if you do try it again, you will not live to regret it. Have we made ourselves clear?"

Kingsley stared at the knife pressed against his skin. He started to nod but stopped as that made the metal press closer to him. "Crystal," he answered.

Trowa nodded and moved away, handing Duo back his knife. Duo took it, shooting Trowa a speculative look. He wasn't sure when his friend had taken his knife from him but he supposed he didn't mind so along as Trowa returned it.

The pilots stepped away and Kingsley climbed to his feet.

"We will return to the others and you can inform us on all the intel you currently have on the Veela and their movements," Heero ordered.

"After that, you will call a press conference and we will make the announcement of Trowa being named Lord Potter and go from there," Wufei added.

Kingsley rubbed his neck and nodded. He followed group outside, keeping a weary eye on Duo and Trowa. He relaxed slightly when they joined the Weasley clan and Hermione, who were milling about the garden, scowling.

"Have a nice chat?" Ron called when the group exited the Burrow.

"Don't know how nice it was but we certainly chatted," Duo answered pleasantly. Teddy ran up to him and Duo lifted the toddler into his arms. Kingsley tried not stare as one of the men who had just threatened his life smiled gently at a little boy and tweaked his nose with laugh.

They sat at the large tables that were pressed together. If anyone noticed Kingsley's swollen cheek, they wisely didn't comment. Once settled, Kingsley began speaking.

"As I've said, the Veela have been building their army and gathering supplies in secret. We believe they mean to take advantage of the wizards while we are still recovering from the war. As of now, their army is as powerful, if not more so, than ours."

"Do you know anything about the group of magical creatures fighting the Veela?" Hermione asked. "Harry met with them once but we haven't been able to find them. We know they're lead by a centaur, a goblin, and a wizard thief."

Kingsley's nodded, his face becoming dark. "I do, though there's no point looking for them now. They were a group of vigilante types who had discovered what Lord Christoph was up to and came together to stop him. However a little over two weeks ago, the entire group was slaughtered. Christoph's people found their hiding place among the Goblins and attacked, wiping most of them out and many Goblins as well."

"What was Christoph's plan?" Ginny asked.

"To expose magic," Hermione answered. "The Veela want to reveal magic to the muggle world have been going about it in such a way to make wizards look like bad people."

"Yeah well, it's not that hard," Duo muttered. "You guys aren't really that respectful."

"We've told you before, we've do what we have to to protect ourselves!" Ron argued.

"Enough," Heero ordered. The two fell silent and Heero turned back to Kingsley. "Continue."

"We still haven't discovered the reason _why_ Christoph wants to expose magic, only that he does and he wants the muggles to believe wizards are evil."

"We were able to briefly interrogate one his Veela," Quatre said. "And he referred to us as 'breeding stock.' Do you know what that means?"

The Minister frowned and shook his head slowly. "No, I have never heard that term before."

"Perhaps it was just a crude insult, then," Quatre muttered, looking away thoughtfully.

"Have you reached out to the goblins and offered them help after this massacre?" Hermione asked.

Kingsley shook his head. "I have not been able to. I've been forced to act as though I have no idea the attack occurred. But now that my hands have been untied, I will offer our assistance. Goblins and wizards have a shaky history but we have been on friendly terms since Voldemort's defeat."

"If they weren't willing to help out against Voldemort, I doubt they'll be all that eager to fight Christoph," Ron pointed out.

"This is different. Christoph has moved against them in such a way that they can't ignore it. They can't use the excuse that this is a wizard war because the Veela are magical creatures and are threatening our entire world, not just wizards."

"What about the centaurs or other magical races?" Hermione asked.

"I will contact them all, perhaps try and form a summit so that we can discuss the threat."

"Fine, you go do that and we'll go get Harry," Duo said. "You moving against him politically will divide his attentions and hopefully make it easier to rescue him."

Kingsley nodded. "If there's nothing else, I can have the press gathered for you within the hour."

Hermione and Ron turned to the Preventers who exchanged looks before nodding.

"Go ahead," Hermione decided. "I'll get Trowa ready to make the announcement. Andromeda, he's going to need formal dress robes. Do you have any we can modify to fit?"

The aging woman nodded. "I believe I still have some of my late husband's robes packed away. I will get them."

"What about Quatre?" Ron asked. "Do you think we should have him there too?"

Hermione frowned thoughtfully. "No, not for the first announcement. We're going to cause a big enough commotion as it is. Let's wait a little while before adding the fact that the new Lord Potter is basically married to a muggle."

"That also brings up the question," Kingsley interrupted. "Is Mr. Barton a squib or completely muggle himself?"

Hermione blinked and turned to the older man in surprise. She had overlooked that fact until now. "I guess we'll have to test." She and Trowa stood and Hermione waved her wand. A very dull orange glow appeared around Trowa. It was so light they almost couldn't see it in the morning sun.

"Squib," Ron declared. "Well at least he's not fully muggle." He turned to his brother. "George, do you have any of those jokes wands? We can give one to Trowa to fool everyone and he can perform tiny bits of magic with it, just in case anyone gets suspicious."

"I'll get some from the shop," George assured.

"Okay, Kingsley, go ahead and call a press conference. Andromeda, George, please go get everything, and Mrs. Weasley, Fleur, if you could help myself and Trowa get ready, I would appreciate it."

Everyone nodded and the three vanished to do as they were asked. Hermione turned to Trowa with a strained smile.

"Shall we get you primed, Lord Potter?"

Trowa nodded, his face serious. It was time to get his little brother back.

*!*!*

Trowa stood with his back straight in dark colored robes. They had once belonged to Andromeda's late husband and been magically altered to fit him perfectly. They were made of silk and the silver trim was real silver, magically changed into fabric. On his finger was a ring with the Potter family crest. It was an object that only the true head of the family could wear. They had found it in Harry's belongings that he kept stored at the Weasley's home.

Next to him stood Hermione wearing flowing purple robes. While she had been couching Trowa on what to say and how to act, Fleur had done her hair into a partial ponytail with curls. She wore a light amount of makeup on her lips and eyes. Trowa could tell the girl was uncomfortable as she kept fidgeting with her formal outfit and tugging at her ponytail.

Hidden among the reporters were the other Preventers. They had all borrowed robes from the Weasley family to better blend in. They had all agreed it would be best to hide so that any enemies present wouldn't know how many allies Trowa had or what they looked like.

As Trowa waited for the gathered reporters to get settled, he pulled out the fake wand George had given him. It looked and felt just like a real wand but it could only perform a set number of joke spells. Hermione had warned him to use it only if necessary. It was really meant for show, to throw people off the fact that he was a squib. Even though, technically, squibs were allowed to be Head of their families, it had never been heard of before. No one would take Trowa seriously if they knew the truth about his magical status.

Ron joined the two in the small area off to the side of the gathered reporters. He was wearing dress robes but would not be going to speak with Trowa on stage. They had decided that having Hermione would be enough. She was well known as Harry's friend and by standing with Trowa and showing support of his words, they hoped it would help people believe the truth more easily.

"We're just about ready," Ron announced.

"Do you remember everything we talked about?" Hermione asked. "Just keep it direct and to the point."

Trowa nodded. "I shall."

"Okay, then you're up," Ron said. He leaned forward and kissed Hermione's cheek. "If you guys need anything, we're right in the audience."

The reporters all took their seats and Trowa walked to the podium, followed closely by Hermione. Kingsley was already on stage and bowed his head respectfully to Trowa as he took his place before the crowd.

"Good afternoon," Trowa spoke calmly, his quiet voice amplified by a spell Hermione had cast on him. "On my request, Minister Shacklebolt has called this conference so that I may introduce myself publicly and attempt to right a wrong that has occurred against my family."

The reporters were listening with mild interest, relaxed in their seats.

"My name is Trowa Potter, and as of last night, I am now officially the Head of the Potter household."

The little bit of shuffling that had been going on from the restless reporters stopped. Not a sound was made as suddenly everyone's attention was on Trowa.

"I was gifted this title first my younger brother, Harry James Potter. He willingly and knowingly signed over all his titles, assets, and fortunes to myself, declaring me the head of the Potter household. Minister Shacklebolt then reviewed the situation and agreed that I, as the older of the two sons, had a legal, uncontested right to the title. He and Harry have both signed the necessary documents to make me the legal and uncontested Lord Potter."

The silence in the room was deafening. Hermione had warned Trowa that there would be an uproar and many questions but the reporters merely sat in their seats, their mouths hanging open slightly and staring. Years of self-control was the only thing that kept Trowa from fidgeting uncomfortably. He was about to continue when a single reporter managed to find his voice.

"James Potter only had one son," he said. The entire room leaned forward, waiting with bated breath for his response.

"I am Lily Potter's blood son born when she was fifteen years old. When my mother married James Potter, he granted her full rights to the Potter family name, giving me a claim to the family as well. Harry gave up his right to be named the Lord of the family and gifted the title to myself instead."

Finally the uproar they had been expecting happened. The reporters jumped to their feet, shouting out questions. Their quills flew over their parchment in nearly illegible scribbles. As Trowa could not pick one question out from another he merely stood calmly, waiting for them to run out of breath.

When they finally did, Trowa continued. "The reason Harry is not here with me to make this announcement is the same reason I have called this meeting in the first place. My younger brother has been promised to the Veela Lord Christoph Van Vitrol through an ancient marriage contract that exists between our two families."

The reporters were shouting again. One woman's voice managed to rise above the others.

"Those contracts were disbanded. The Ministry is working on removing them from the legal books permanently."

Trowa nodded as everyone hung on his every word. "Before they were disbanded, Lord Christoph managed to push one through. Because we were dealing with family politics at the time, neither myself nor Harry had an opportunity to properly address the issue. Because of that, my brother was promised to Lord Christoph without the Lord going through the proper channels and paying the respect due to my family. We did not enter official negotiations or agree on what would be best for both families. As such, I demand now that my brother be returned to me and, if Lord Christoph truly wants to pursue this marriage, he must do so correctly."

"Are you saying the Savior is being forced against his will to marry a Veela?"

"Yes."

The shouts from the reporters were nearly defining. Cries of outrage and some very colorful curses were thrown around and Trowa allowed himself a nearly invisible smirk. He held up his hand and the angry mob silenced themselves.

"I am currently residing in a safe location with my brother's friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, both of whom have been very kind and accepting of me. I will be contacting Lord Christoph today to discuss this matter and promise to keep the wizarding public informed of the proceedings. I will now turn this conference over to Minister Shacklebolt and Ms. Granger. They will answer any more questions you have. Excuse me."

Trowa ignored the shouting crowd and nodded to the Minister while Hermione stepped forward and placed a soft hand on his arm, resting her cheek next to his. Rapid pictures were taken of the two, the flashes nearly blinding them.

"Good job!" she whispered before stepping away and joining Kingsley before the reporters. Trowa stepped off the stage where Ron met him. He apparated them both back to the Burrow before any reporters had a chance to corner him and as questions.

*!*!*

The windows in Christoph's personal study explode as an invisible force blew them out. Before him, the body of the messenger who had brought him the wizard paper lay at his feet. Disgusted, the Veela turned away with a scowl. The doors to his study flew open and his sister and second in command ran in.

"Brother! What has happened?" Lady Adeline demanded. She held a knife in her hand, ready to fight any attackers.

Christoph ignored her as he went to stand by his broken window, ignoring the shards of glass everywhere. Lord Nicolas toed the dead body and frowned. He was going to have to clean this up.

"It would seem I underestimated my little Savior and his friends," Christoph said coldly. "I shall have to be more careful in the future."

Adeline spotted the paper and picked up, reading the headline in shock. "He has a _brother_? That is why the soul-binding could not be done?"

"Nicolas," Christoph's voice was flat and emotionless. "Find out everything you can on this _supposed_ brother."

"Right away, my Lord."

"Sister, I think it is time for us to pay a visit to our guest. He should be awake by now."

"I'll arrange transport, my Lord."

As the two hurried from the room, Christoph raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Flames engulfed the dead body at his feat until there was nothing left but ash. He smiled cruelly. He would take the meeting with this supposed brother of Harry Potter's and he would deal with him as easily as he had that corpse. This fool would regret calling out the Veela Lord.

* * *

**A/N: So I've got a scene in my head for the next chapter that I soooo can't wait to write. I'll give you a hint... it involves Harry and a thief. :P **

**So Christoph is angry about Trowa and Harry's kinda defenseless right now without any magic. And of course he's playing the hero by not telling anyone. Jack ass, right? Lol**

**Not a lot of notes this chapter. So I'll just say thank you everyone for reviewing! Please continue to do so!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Date Posted: June 24th 2015**

**A/N: So this is the longest you guys have ever had to wait for an update, isn't it (well, for this story anyways, lol)? I'm sorry everyone. It's just hard to sit and write with so much stuff going on. I also got distracted with another fandom and wrote a quick two-shot over there. A couple people actually messaged me asking about updates so that helped to get my mind focused a little more.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. I personally like it a lot. Please enjoy.**

**Chapter Twenty-Six:**

Harry stood before the door to his room, frowning suspiciously. His personal servant had just left and Harry noticed that he had left the room unlocked. The magical barriers were down and there was nothing stopping Harry from opening the door and leaving.

Harry shook his head. This was the most obvious trap he had ever seen.

But what did he have to lose? Christoph had already captured him and Harry's magic still hadn't returned so he couldn't escape on his own. Deciding to see what was going on, Harry reached out and opened the door. He half expected an army of Veela to appear and attack him but the hallway was empty. Harry stepped out and made his way as quietly as possible down the carpeted hall. When he reached the end, he attempted to open the door to the stairs but received a shock for his efforts. Frowning, Harry looked around, wondering if perhaps it really had been an accident that his door was left unlocked.

As he turned, a creaking sound met Harry's ears and the teen frowned. He cautiously walked over to a wall and placed a hand on it, giving it a gentle shove. The wall gave way to a secret staircase and Harry cautiously made his way down it. The door shut behind him, engulfing Harry in darkness. He cursed and held up his arm. He was still too weak to cast any spells but his bracelet glowed slightly in the dark.

As Harry continued down, the staircase became more narrow. He kept one hand on the cold stone and stepped carefully as his eyes adjusted. Finally, Harry reached the bottom. He could hear water dripping and the room was dank and smelled strange. As Harry entered a large room, he paused, realizing this place was a dungeon. Three cells were spread in a semicircle with thick bars. Two were empty but the third had a single person leaning against the wall.

Carefully, Harry made his way forward, his senses on high alert. He flexed his hands, taking comfort in the fact that Duo had taught him how to fight even without a wand. He might be at a disadvantage if he were discovered but at least Harry could still put up a fight.

"Hello?" Harry whispered. He wasn't sure if the man in the cell was dead or not.

The body moved slightly and Harry let out a breath.

"Are you okay?"

"Now what kind of question is that?" a thick Irish accent answered. "Find a guy locked up in a cell and you ask, 'are you okay'?"

Harry recognized the voice immediately. "Thief! Er... Gadai! What happened? How'd you get here?"

Harry ran to the bars, shocked when they opened without a problem. He hurried into the cell and knelt next to the injured man. His face was bruised and cuts decorated his arms and torso. His shirt was in tatters and hung uselessly around his thin frame.

"Got me-self caught, like a fool," Gadai sighed. "Would you do me a kindness, little Savior? I'm rather cold and would like my shirt to fit again."

Harry tried to gather his magic to perform the simple spell but found he couldn't. He was still exhausted magically.

"I can't, I'm sorry."

Gadai looked at him in surprise. "Surely someone as strong as you knows wandless magic?"

"I do but I've used all my magic up protecting myself for the past month. I can't even cast a levitation charm right now."

The thief frowned, sitting back. The chains on his wrists and ankles clattered noisily. "Then how'd you get down here, boy?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. Someone left the door to my room unlocked and I found this passage and followed it."

"Well that sounds like a trap if I've ever seen one! And like a damn heroic fool you walked right into it!" The thief shook his head. "Oh you hero types can be so frustrating sometimes."

Harry flushed but ignored the jab. "I need to get you out of here. Is there a guard? Do you know where the key for these chains are?"

"How you going to fight off a guard with no magic? Think things through, boy!"

"I know how to fight without magic, you know," Harry snapped. "Stop being such a pain the ass and help me! Or do you want to stay a prisoner in this place?"

Gadai sighed and rolled his eyes. He stared at Harry with a look torn between annoyance and fondness. "No one bothers with keys in a magical prison, little Savior. Magic put these things on me and only it will take them off."

Harry ran his hands over the cuffs. There was no seem or key hole and the teen growled in anger. He was sure he could tear these apart if he only had his powers back! Putting himself into a coma may have protected him for the last month but it was becoming a huge pain in the butt now.

"Okay, I may not be able to get you out yet, but I can at least help. I've got food and water in my room. I'll bring you some and get you some of the clothes they've given me. Once my magic has rested, I'll come break both of us out."

"You should take the chance to escape," Gadai pointed out. He smirked. "But I suppose even if you did, it wouldn't matter. He would just summon you back with that ring."

Harry looked down at the silver band and scowled. "Guess I should have listened to you guys."

"Aye, that you should have. But no point dwelling on the past, Savior. All you can do now is accept your choice and move forward with confidence."

Gadai broke into a coughing fit and Harry gently rubbed his back. "How long have you been here?"

"A couple weeks. Got me-self captured when they found our hiding place."

Harry looked down. "I'm sorry."

The thief stared at him for a moment before forcing a grin. "Ragnok took out half their guys before they got him. Damn glorious fighter, that obnoxious bloodthirsty goblin. He always swore he would take as many as he could with him."

Harry didn't smile and saw through the thief's brave act at once. "Did you ever find out why Christoph is doing this? We know it's him trying to expose magic but we haven't been able to figure out why."

"For breeding," Gadai answered.

"Breeding?"

"Aye. The Veelas are strong but their population is dwindling. The number of full-blooded Veela has been nearly cut in half over the last hundred years. They now have more half-breeds than pure bloods."

Harry's eyes widened. "You're joking, right? Didn't I just fight a war over all of this?"

Gadai shook his head. "It's not the same as the wizards. Veela traits are very dominate and last for generations, even if a person only has one Veela ancestor. The problem is that half-breeds identify more with wizards than their Veela roots. Because of that, the children with mixed blood are leaning more towards being wizards than strange-beautiful-bird-people."

"What's this got to do with muggles?"

"Muggles have the weakest blood of all the races. The only thing they have going for them is vast numbers. The Veela want to mate with the muggles so that their dominate traits are the only ones present. Their children won't have to chose between wizard or Veela, they'll chose between Veela and muggle, and what child would chose to be a boring muggle over a magical Veela?"

"The Veela want use muggles..."

"As breeding stock," Gadai confirmed. "To increase their numbers without having to worry about their children falling to the lure of wizards. And because muggles have such weak blood, they'll still posses the powers and strength of a full blooded Veela."

"And by making the wizards out to be bad guys, the Veelas assure the muggle's loyalty." Harry's eyes widened. "And if they have kids with them, the muggles would never fight against them even if they knew the truth about wizards being good because they would have children and families with the Veela!"

"Aye," Gadai confirmed. "The Veela sure know what they're doing."

"Yes, we are rather ingenious, aren't we?" Lord Christoph's voice spoke from door to the cell.

Harry whipped around, surprised that he hadn't sensed the Lord's approach. Either Christoph was masking his power or Harry's senses were dulled by his magical exhaustion. He stood quickly, putting himself between the Veela and Gadai. Next to Christoph stood Nicolas, dressed in his red battle armor. Gadai growled at him.

"Come to finally finish the job?" Gadai taunted.

"So eager to die," Nicholas sneered.

Harry took a defensive stance. "You're not touching him again."

Christoph laughed. "So foolishly brave, despite your weakened state. Well Gadai, you have ruined my opportunity to deliver a long-winded speech about my plans. I've been told that's the most entertaining part of being a so-called 'villain'."

Gadai made a clucking sound with his tongue and shook his head. "How inconsiderate of me. I'll understand completely if you want to throw me out right at this moment."

Christoph smirked. "And miss the opportunity to teach you proper manners? I think not." He turned back to Harry. "So my little Lord, I've been informed you have a brother."

Harry smirked. "Awe, now you ruined my chance for a speech."

"Hmm..." Christoph frowned. "You'll be ecstatic to know we have a meeting with him first thing tomorrow to discuss our upcoming marriage."

Harry was about to argue but stopped. "Wait, _we_?"

"Oh yes little Lord, you'll be there too. And you'll be on your best behavior."

Harry crossed his arms and shot the Veela a disbelieving look.

"You'll also be with me to make a press release, announcing our engagement to the world. We'll be celebrating with an extravagant ball later this week, per custom."

"Like hell!" Harry snapped. "I'm not doing any of that. I'm not your puppet and won't let you use me!"

Christoph lifted his hand and the ring on Harry's finger turned an angry red. He grabbed his hand and bit his lips, refusing to cry out in pain. Gadai surged forward in his chains and scowled at Christoph.

"How the mighty have fallen, being reduced to torture to get others to obey."

Christoph stared at him dispassionately and snapped his fingers. The pain in Harry's hand vanished while the chains restraining Gadai suddenly glowed red. The thief screamed and tried to jerk away as the smell of burning flesh filled the air. He gritted his teeth and tried to push past the pain.

"Stop!" Harry yelled.

With no magic to rely on, Harry charged forward. He raised his fist but before he could strike, pain exploded from his hand once again. His charge came to an abrupt stop as Harry fell to the ground, clutching the hand with the cursed ring on it.

"Forgot about that, did you?" Christoph sneered. "You can not harm myself or any member of my family while that ring is on your finger."

"It works both ways!" Gadai growled. "You can't harm him or his family either!"

Harry looked over at the thief in shock. He whipped back around to stare the Veela down.

"My brother is going to get me out of this and no amount of scheming is going to stop me from defeating you. You _won't_ beat me." Harry spat at him, hitting the Lord right in the face. Christoph reeled back in disgust.

"Disgusting brat!" he shouted.

Nicolas stepped forward and summoned a fireball to his hand. He threw it at Harry who had no magic to defend himself with. Harry turned away, bracing himself for the pain he was about to endure, but before the attack could hit him, Gadai threw himself in front of the teen. The thief screamed in agony as his chest was torn open and burned. He fell back into Harry's horrified arms.

"No!" Harry shouted. "You idiot! Why'd you do that?"

"Not gonna survive that one without a little magic, boy," Gadai gasped out. He closed his eyes tightly and forced himself to breath as little as possible.

"Fool," Christoph muttered, staring down at the thief dispassionately. "For all your talk, you're just as much a heroic idiot as anyone. Nicholas, take Potter back to his room and make sure he stays locked up tightly this time."

The man grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him away from Gadai. Harry struggled instantly.

"No! He needs help! He's going to die!" Harry shouted.

"So?" Christoph shrugged dispassionately. "I have no more use for him."

Desperate, Harry blurted out, "You can't control me if he's dead!"

Christoph turned to him, a single eyebrow raised. "Control you?"

"Save him!" Harry ordered. "Save him and I'll do whatever you ask! I'll be the perfect husband or whatever it is you want."

The Veela lord stalked forward gracefully, grabbing Harry's chin harshly. "You will go against your brother's words. You will obey me unquestioningly."

Harry swallowed, glancing at Gadai's dying form. "Yes. But _only_ if you save him."

The Veela lord smirked. "As you wish then, little Lord."

Nicholas dragged Harry away, leaving the Veela ruler alone with the dying thief.

*!*!*

The plan had been working perfectly. For the past two days, Trowa, Hermione, and sometimes Ron, had been bouncing between reporters and various newspapers, giving interviews. They explained that Trowa had been living with muggles during the war and it was the muggles who discovered he might be related to Harry. They told the truth about Christoph tricking Kingsley into signing the marriage contract and, as expected, the whole wizarding world was outraged.

For as well as things were going for Trowa, they were going badly for Kingsley. He was constantly fielding questions and complaints as to why he hadn't done a better job of protecting Harry Potter. The Preventers grudgingly respected Kingsley's honesty as he admitted to the world that he had been tricked. It was his honesty that stopped the angry mobs from demanding his immediate resignation. For the moment he was being investigated and his every move scrutinized.

With all the publicly, Christoph had sent Trowa an invitation to meet at his home in Vitriol to discuss matters. Trowa agreed right away and now the group sat in Quatre's mansion, trying to decide how to handle the upcoming meeting.

"Well it goes without saying that Trowa and I will be there," Hermione spoke crisply. "But this is an informal meeting, we can't all go."

"I'll go!" multiple voices spoke at once and everyone glared at each other in annoyance.

"I'm going," Duo repeated, his voice firm and cold. His face dared anyone to argue against him.

Of course, Heero did. "You are too emotionally involved. You will do something reckless that will put both you and Harry into danger."

"Heero's correct," Wufei added. "This meeting is only the first step. We will not be able to rescue Harry in one sitting. We need someone with a clear head to go and pay close attention to security and the building's layout."

"I know how to case a place," Duo snapped. "I'm a better thief than anyone here."

"You will be emotionally compromised," Heero insisted. "I will go."

"I think I should," Quatre added his opinion to the argument. "It is my husband and brother-in-law that will be in danger."

"You are just as emotionally compromised as Duo!" Wufei argued.

"I want to go too!" Ron joined in. "Having a pureblood there helps to validate your argument! Also, I can catch holes in their magical security that you guys would miss!"

Before the argument could continue, Ron and Hermione's bracelets glowed. Hermione held her hand up for silence while Ron removed the jewelry. He stretched it wide but Harry's face didn't appear in the circle.

"Harry?" Hermione called. "Are you there? Is everything alright?"

Harry's voice came from his green stone, sounding breathless and slightly frantic. "No, guys something bad has happened!"

Everyone leaned forward, staring at the green stone intensely.

"What is it?" Ron demanded.

Harry didn't answer and Hermione felt herself beginning to panic. "Harry?" she called.

"Someone's coming," Harry whispered. "I'll contact you the next time I'm alone."

"Wait, Harry, what's happened?"

It was too late. Harry's stone dimmed and the communication cut off.

"I'm going," Duo repeated. He was staring at the bracelet with hard eyes.

"Stop!" Hermione ordered before the argument could start up again. "We're all going. I've got an idea."

*!*!*

The carriage ride to Lord Christoph's mansion was bumpy and uncomfortable. Trowa desperately wished the magical community knew what cars were and one day adopted them over the magically drawn carriages. It was small with seating big enough for four people. The inside was red velvet while the outside was red and gold and decorated with jewels. It bore the Potter family crest, announcing to everyone who was in the carriage.

Trowa and Quatre were sitting next to each other on cushioned seats. Across from them were Hermione and Heero. Everyone was dressed in formal clothing and looked uncomfortable. The reason for their discomfort was sitting on the floor of the carriage, currently covered by Harry's invisibility cloak.

Duo, Ron, and Wufei were smashed together in the small space of the carriage. They had no idea if they were being watched or not, so the three were forced to hide for the entire trip. Hermione had suggested they use the cloak to sneak into Christoph's mansion while the others distracted him with the meeting. The three would check out security and map the place as best they could.

As they entered the city of Vitrol, Quatre stared out the window, taking in the radiant city. It was perfectly kept and very clean. The shops lining the road were well kept and not a single one stood empty. The people walking the street were well-dressed and behaved in a very dignified manner. Quatre was caught off guard by how stunningly beautiful everyone was. He knew the Veela were renowned for their beauty but to see it first hand surprised him.

"What is that fountain?" Trowa asked as the carriage rode past the center of town. Hermione leaned past Heero to look. The fountain was of a fully transformed Veela woman who was kneeling in prayer.

"That's one of the Veela Gods," Hermione answered. "Cambria, I believe her name is. The Goddess of beauty and prosperity. Christoph had the statue built in her honor when he was named King and the Veela go everyday to pray to it. They believe their current economic success is due to this statue being built and the Gods being pleased."

Duo snorted. "Fucking idiots."

"We're here," Hermione announced. "Stay quiet and get ready."

The carriage pulled up into a long cobblestone driveway. A huge brick house was waiting at the end. The lawn was perfectly manicured and the garden full of blooming flowers. An army of servants were standing outside the front door, all wearing identical and perfectly kept uniforms. As the carriage came to a stop, one servant ran forward and opened the door with a deep bow.

Very carefully, Heero stepped out first. He took in his surroundings with cold eyes before standing aside for the others in the carriage. Hermione came next and accidentally stepped on Ron's invisible foot. She would have fallen but Heero turned and caught her hand, steadying her. They covered up the slip by making it look as though Heero had reached out to help her from the carriage. She smiled gratefully and him and stood aside.

Quatre came next. He exited the carriage gracefully and with poise. He lifted his head high and stared around him with mild curiosity. Acting the part of the rich business owner, he walked over to stand with Hermione and didn't acknowledge Heero, who was pretending to be their staff.

Trowa stepped out last and as one, the servants bowed deeply to him. He knew it was a sign of respect but could tell from the stoic faces and judgmental eyes that no one here respected him. He stepped forward gracefully as the head servant walked up to him and bowed again.

"Lord Potter," he greeted in a deep voice. "Lord Christoph and Master Harry are awaiting your arrival in the den. If you will follow me, I will take you to them straight away."

Trowa nodded and walked after the servant. Behind him, Heero closed the carriage door but made sure not to latch it. Once all the servants went back to their work, the other three would be free to leave and begin searching the grounds. Trowa and his group would try and drag the meeting out as long as possible to give them more time to search.

The servant stopped before a set of mahogany doors and knocked once. As soon as he heard a voice bidding them to enter, he opened the door and stepped aside.

"My Lord, Lord Trowa Potter has arrived for your meeting."

"Thank you, Tristan, that will be all."

"Yes, my Lord."

Tristan the butler bowed and left, shutting the doors behind him. Trowa took in the room with a quick glance. It was large with two windows and a fireplace. The fire wasn't lit as it was daytime. A large desk was to the left of the fireplace and was neatly organized. There was a glass coffee table in the center of the room surrounded by two couches. Harry was sitting on one of the couches, dressed in rich green robes. He didn't look hurt in anyway but he had lost weight since Trowa last saw him.

Harry looked up at Trowa and started to smile but stopped halfway. His green eyes were heavy as he forced himself to remain stoic. Trowa frowned in disapproval. Harry had never contacted them again after his cryptic message that something terrible had happened and it worried Trowa.

Christoph stepped forward from behind his desk and smiled politely. "Lord Potter," he greeted. "At last we meet. I apologize for not paying my respects to you and your family earlier. Had I known about you, I would have made more of an effort."

"I'm sure you would have," Trowa said coldly. "At the very least you would have been forced to by the law to contact me when you decided to kidnap my brother."

Christoph waved his words off with the practice ease of a politician. "Come now, let's not be so dramatic. Young Harry is here by his own free will. I am not holding him hostage or whatever such nonsense you have concocted."

Christoph turned to the teen and Harry nodded. When the Lord didn't look away, he spoke in a quiet voice. "He's telling the truth. We were staying in one of his private homes getting to know each other for the last month but now that we are ready to announce the..." Harry's voice caught slightly for just a moment before he pressed on, "... the engagement, we've decided to move here to the city. It will be more convenient."

"There, you see? Your paranoia is unjustified. Now, shall we sit?" Christoph gestured to the seats around them before taking his spot next to Harry. He took Harry's hand and Trowa noticed how Harry's other hand clenched for a moment before he relaxed. Frowning, Trowa sat with Quatre and Hermione on the couch while Heero stood behind the three, his eyes constantly watching the room.

"So this meeting is to clear up the misunderstanding you seem to have that your brother and I do not wish to marry," Christoph began. "But before we get into that, I'm afraid I must ask that you provide proof that you are in fact blood related to my fiance. For legal matters, I assure you."

Trowa scowled but nodded. "You have my permission to cast a paternity spell on the both of us."

"Thank you." The Veela raised his hand and Harry held out his hand for Trowa. The older man took it and Harry squeezed lightly but kept his face blank the whole time. Trowa did not look away from him as Christoph cast his spell and nodded.

"It is positive," he announced.

Slowly, Harry pulled away, placing his hands in lap and folding them.

"Well now that that is settled, I believe you wanted to look at the marriage contract once more and possibly change a few things."

"If I may ask, Lord Christoph," Trowa spoke quietly, finally looking away from Harry to the Veela Lord. "If you and my brother are in love as you claim, then why do you need to bother with a contract at all?"

"It's simply politics. I am the Veela King and require contracts such as this to protect myself and my interests. Harry, as such an important and influential wizard, should have one as well, to protect his interests."

"I agree completely," Trowa stated. "Which is why I am here. I do not believe Harry is free to act in his best interests while he is here with you. I believe you are coercing him and fooling his mind."

"You speak very boldly for one who mere months ago was a nobody," Christoph stated coldly. "As I have said, Harry is marrying me of his own free will."

"Than perhaps you would be willing to prove that. For the duration of your engagement, I would like Harry to live separately from you. He may chose where he wishes to stay so long as you are not nearby."

Trowa noticed how Harry perked up very slightly at his words. His eyes filled with a tiny bit of hope and Trowa was relieved to see even a small amount of emotion from him.

"And what would that accomplish?"

"If you two are truly..._in love_ as you claim, you will be able to withstand time apart. It will also allow you both to clear your heads and make sure this is the correct decision for you."

"We have already decided together that this is what we want," Christoph stated. "However my words do not seem to be enough to convince you. Harry," the Veela turned to him. "Perhaps you could talk some sense into your brother. He seems to be just as stubborn as you."

Harry nodded. "More so, actually," he whispered. He took a deep breath and turned to Trowa. "I know this doesn't make a lot of sense to you but Christoph is telling the..." Harry's voice caught slightly again, "the truth. I do wish to marry him. I don't... want time apart during our engagement."

"Harry," Hermione suddenly spoke, leaning forward. "I know you don't mean this. You're..."

Before she could finish speaking, Harry leaned forward and grabbed her hands. Hermione stopped and looked down in shock. Her friend had slipped his bracelet off and wrapped her fingers around it.

"Hermione," Harry began, "You are my best friend in the entire world. I love you and Ron like my family. Please, don't make this any harder than it already is. I don't want you to leave here angry and not come to my... my wedding."

Hermione stared down at the bracelet in Harry's hands in shock. She touched the green stone and suddenly blinked. The stone was warm but it shouldn't have been. Once Harry took it off, the stones should have gone cold. She clutched it in her fist and sat back.

"If that's how you feel, Harry," she whispered. "I'll be there for you, of course. I could never leave my best friend."

"Thank you." Harry smiled sadly at her before turning to Trowa. Despite his best efforts, the teen couldn't quiet manage to fully hide the wetness gathering in his eyes. "Trowa, we haven't known each other for very long but please, try and understand. I'm going to marry Christoph and it would mean the world to me if you were there too. All of you," Harry said, looking towards Quatre and Heero with his eyes. "I would like _all_ of you to come to my engagement party. Show the world that you really do support me."

Trowa glanced at Quatre and the blonde tapped his chin in a seemingly thoughtful gesture. Hermione knew that it was a signal for her to contact Ron and let the others know that the meeting was nearly over they needed to get back to the carriage. She looked away and discreetly touched the red stone representing her boyfriend.

Knowing that they were done for the day, Trowa turned to Christoph with cold eyes. "Very well, I will drop my complaints about the marriage... for now. However, I am still unhappy with the arrangements made. The marriage contract is supposed to ensure that both families are equally compensated and you have not upheld that in anyway."

Christoph nodded. "Of course. Then shall we pick another time to meet and work this out? I will have a group of my lawyers look over the current arrangement and see where we can improve things."

"I will do the same," Trowa assured.

"Excellent," Christoph stood and the others followed suit. "Then we shall be in contact within the week. You may also look forward to an invitation to our engagement ball that will be later this week."

"I can assure you," Trowa stated coldly, "We will be there."

Christoph smiled. "I simply can not wait."

Hermione hugged Harry tightly goodbye but Christoph made sure to discreetly stand between the teen and Trowa as they walked to the door. The Veela opened it for them and bowed slightly.

"Please excuse me for not showing you out personally, but I have work to do."

Trowa didn't answer. He stared at Harry for a moment longer before turning and leaving with his head held high. Quatre reached out and squeezed his hand once before letting go. The group refused to let their emotions be seen as they climbed into the carriage and left.

Back in the den, Christoph shut the door and turned to Harry, who immediately dropped his emotionless act to glare hatefully at the Veela.

"You did very well," the man praised condescendingly.

"I want to see Gadai," Harry snapped. "I want to know he's safe."

Christoph waved his hand uncaringly and a moment later Mr. Silent appeared in the room with a bow. "Take the little lord to see his precious thief and then put him back in his room. There is no longer any reason to monitor him as he no longer has his communication device."

Harry flinched and grabbed his wrist where his bracelet no longer was. A tan line was visible on his on his skin where the bracelet always sat. He felt alone and naked without it. Christoph had ordered him to give it up as part of their deal to ensure Gadai lived.

Mr. Silent gestured for Harry to follow him and the teen did, pausing briefly at the door.

"Trowa's more stubborn than me," he said. "He's not going to give up easily."

"I am not worried."

Harry glared at him. "You should be," he snapped and slammed the door behind him.

* * *

**A/N: So much happened in this chapter! A lot of people liked Gadai a lot so I decided to bring him back. He may or may not have a bigger role in the story, I'm still deciding and working out the kinks.**

**And now we know what the Veela are up to. I hope you like the plan I've got working and it doesn't sound lame. I don't read a lot of Veela stories so I've never seen one with a plot like this so hopefully it's original. If not...oh well. **

**So question! Do you guys want to actually read the scene of Duo and the others running around and "casing" the mansion? I thought it would be a little boring and was just planning on summarizing it in the next chapter but if you want to read it, I'll try and write it.**

**So let me know what you thought! Please review! Thank you!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Date Posted: June 27, 2015**

**A/N: Okay, updated in a much more timely fashion. Tiny bit of filler chapter but it has some interesting back story for Gadai.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Twenty-Seven:**

As soon as the servants left and returned to their duties, Ron, Duo, and Wufei carefully stood. Ron cast a notice-me-not charm to help hide them as the three awkwardly climbed from the carriage without taking off the invisibility cloak. They managed it and Ron cast a silencing charm on them as they shuffled from the carriage behind some bushes. Once they were sure no one was around, Duo tossed the cloak off.

"You keep that on," he ordered Ron. "Wufei and I can move without being seen."

"Where should we start?"

The Gundam pilots looked around, observing the area. There was no point in searching the grounds as it was all wide open and could be seen clearly. The main entrance to the house was filled with servants coming and going so that was out, as it would be too easy to get caught. Duo spotted a group of servants walking quickly and looking haggard and tapped Wufei's arm, pointing at them.

"I wonder what they're up to," he muttered.

"We'll follow them."

Duo and Wufei dashed from the bushes in perfect sync. Ron was caught off guard for a brief moment and ran to catch up. Because he was under the cloak and didn't have to worry about being seen, he ran past the other two, who were constantly ducking behind bushes and objects to stay hidden.

Ron waited at the end of a hall for his companions. When the arrived he spoke, making both jump slightly in surprise.

"They turned left."

The group ran down the hall and stopped at a set of doors. Ron cast an unlocking charm and opened it, stopping for a moment in surprise. The area was a spa of some sort. A large steaming pool was in the center of the room. Tables and chairs were surrounding it with towels or clothes neatly folded on them. In the pool were five injured Veela and five nurses. The nurses were helping the injured to float while casting gentle healing charms on them.

Wufei and Duo ducked to the side while Ron carefully closed the door.

"It's a healing spa," Ron whispered. "Veela are known for having some of the best healers in the world because their magic is different than wizards. They say a healing spa run by Veela can bring you back from the brink of death in a matter of minutes."

Duo and Wufei nodded, absorbing the information. They looked down the hall and Wufei pointed left. Without a word, the three ran off again, sticking close to the wall and staying low. They traveled through a maze of hallways without seeing anyone before coming out the back of the compound. In the distance was a grouping of small houses but they were too far to make it out.

"Ron!" Duo hissed.

"Here."

Duo jumped slightly when Ron's voice came from near his elbow. "Binoculars."

Ron looked around and spotted a large rock. He tapped it with his wand, transfiguring it into a pair of binoculars. He handed them to Duo who got a better look at the buildings in the distance.

"They're servant homes," he said, handing the binoculars over to Wufei. The Chinese man watched for a moment and agreed.

"Servants are gossips," Wufei said. "If Christoph had been trying to hide Harry's presence he wouldn't put him anywhere near them. There's no point in searching down there."

"Agreed," Duo muttered.

"Someone's coming!" Ron hissed.

Duo and Wufei dove for cover. Duo hid around the corner while Wufei stood behind a large support beam for the stone roof. Ron pressed himself to the wall and the watched as three female Veela hurried past.

"Again?" one of them was saying. "Why don't we just let this human die? He's barely alive to begin with!"

"Master Christoph ordered us to do whatever was needed to keep him alive. Do you want to disobey our king?"

"Of course not, but at this rate we're going to have to take him to the healing pools!"

The third woman groaned. "Oh to taint our pools with his blood will be so tragic! There must be another way!"

The women rounded the corner and Duo and Wufei slowly came out of hiding. "What do you think?" Duo asked.

"There's no point in going further in this direction. We know this side of the mansion is for servant homes and healing. Let's head to the other side and see what we can find there."

Duo nodded and the three ran as fast as they could to the other side of the building. With Ron's silencing charm still in place, they didn't have to worry about the sound of their footsteps. They hid whenever they spotted a Veela and didn't run into any trouble.

As the three came to a split where the hallway went left or right, Wufei and Duo debated splitting up. They hadn't wanted to do that as Ron was the only one with a bracelet and when he got the signal it was time to leave, they needed to be together. As the two pilots talked, something caught Ron's eye. He carefully walked up to the wall and placed a hand on the stone. He heard the sound of a lock clicking and jerked back.

"Hide!" he whispered urgently.

There wasn't anywhere to hide. The hallways was empty of statues or pillars for them to duck behind. They were trapped in the open as the wall moved aside and revealed a secret passage. A hunchbacked servant came out, shutting the door behind him. Duo and Wufei prepared themselves to attack as the servant turned around and stopped in surprise.

For a moment, the three stared at each other, then Duo and Wufei moved as one. The servant however, was faster than he looked. He threw himself to the side only to crash into Ron's invisible form. The two fell to the ground and the cloak slipped off part of Ron's head. The servant scowled at him before pushing to his feet. He summoned a fireball to his hand and aimed it warningly at Duo and Wufei.

Not wanting to draw any attention, no one spoke. The servant looked between the three contemplatively before shaking his hand, banishing the fireball. His eyes lingered on Duo, staring into his strange violet eyes. On the ground, Ron felt his wrist heat up as Hermione signaled him. He cursed and held his hand up.

The servant spotted the bracelet and reached forward, grabbing it and staring. He smiled and Ron noticed he didn't have a tongue. The man released him and straightened his robes. He stared at all three of them a moment longer before walking down the hallway as if no one were around. Duo made to go after him but Ron stopped him.

"There's no time! We need to get back to the carriage now!"

Unhappy with letting the servant go, the three turned back the way they had come and ran as fast as they could. They quickly piled into the carriage and covered themselves with the cloak just as Trowa and the other's exited the main building. Everyone climbed inside, stepping carefully.

No one spoke as the carriage moved on its own and took them through the city. They had no idea if anyone was watching or listening so they didn't speak or discuss what happened. The three stayed on the floor under the cloak until they came to the edge of Vitrol. Once outside of the city, the carriage stopped and everyone climbed out. Ron and Hermione lifted their wands and as one set the carriage on fire. It burned quickly and they turned to the group, holding out their hands. Everyone latched on and the two wizards apparated them back to Quatre's mansion.

"That was horrible," Hermione whispered as soon as they were safe. She turned and flung herself into Ron, who hugged her tightly.

"What happened?"

The group sat in the living room and traded stories. When everyone had finished talking, Duo shook his head. "Why? Why would the kid say that?"

"Hopefully this will explain," Hermione said, pulling out Harry's bracelet. "The stone is still warm which should mean..."

She and Ron touched the green stone together and Harry's voice floated from it, speaking so softly they had to lean in to hear.

"I'm sorry I can't contact you, they know the bracelet is a communication device and have someone with me all the time now. This guy's not paying much attention so I'll make this quick. Christoph has Gadai, I found him in the dungeons earlier. They almost killed me but Gadai stepped in and saved my life. I made a deal with Christoph that if he didn't let Gadai die, I would do whatever he asked. He agreed. So I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow when I see you but please know I don't mean any of it. Also, Gadai told me that the ring works both ways! I can't hurt Christoph or his family but he can't hurt Trowa either!"

The message went silent abruptly and they waited a long minute before Harry's voice came back, even quieter than before.

"Gadai also told me Christoph's plan. He wants to use muggles to breed more Veelas..."

The message stopped again and this time, the stone dimmed. Hermione and Ron let go and shook their heads.

"That's the end of it," Hermione announced. "He must not have been able to finish."

"Who's Gadai?" Duo asked.

"He's that thief," Ron answered. "Remember? The one from the museum who tried to steal that necklace?"

"_That_ guy?" Duo exclaimed. "_That's_ the guy Harry's sticking his neck out for?"

"Come on, Duo," Ron said. "You should know by now Harry would risk his neck for just about anyone. It really isn't a surprise."

"Christoph must have taken him prisoner when the Veela attacked the goblins," Hermione mused. "But what Harry said at the end, about wanting to breed muggles and Veelas..." Her eyes suddenly widened. "Of course!"

"What is it?" Ron demanded.

"Veela genes are extremely dominate! If a Veela and a muggle were to have a child, the child would be more Veela than muggle! I read a report a while back that stated Veela numbers are dwindling. Christoph's plan must be to mate with muggles to increase their population again. And by using muggles, he doesn't have to worry about the children being half wizard and possibly choosing to side with us over Veela!"

"So that's what breeding-stock means," Quatre mused. "Christoph will reveal magic, making wizards look evil, and then the Veela will come in and form an alliance with the muggle people."

"We have to warn the muggles!" Ron exclaimed. "They're going to be used as pawns and not even realize it."

"We'll contact Lady Une," Quatre said quickly. "We'll tell her everything that's going on so she can prepare."

"Kingsley needs to be informed too," Hermione said. "This is going to make things messy for Ministry."

A flash of fire suddenly interrupted their conversation and the everyone drew their weapons, on edge. Sitting innocently on the table were three envelopes, addressed to Ron, Hermione, and Trowa respectfully. Hermione pocketed her wand and picked the letter up.

"Invitations," she said, "to the engagement ball."

Trowa and Duo stared at the things in distaste.

"We'll inform Lady Une and Shacklebolt about Christoph's plan and let them prepare," Heero decided. "Our focus will remain on rescuing Harry. If he is staying there to protect Gadai, then we will have to rescue him too."

"We know where the healing ward is," Wufei pointed out. "We can make our move during the ball, when everyone will be distracted."

"Agreed. We have three days to prepare," Heero stated.

The others nodded, eager to finally save their friend and brother.

*!*!*

Harry kicked at the door sullenly as Mr. Silent lay out elaborate dress robes on the bed. They were embroidered with real gold and silver. The teen stared at them before sighing and beginning to undress. Christoph had allowed him to see Gadai once a day ever since he had been hurt. The thief was still alive, though his wounds were severe. The Veela healers were caring for him but the Veela Lord had made it very clear that if Harry didn't do as he was told tonight at the engagement ball, they would stop any and all treatment of the man.

Harry picked up the robes at stared at them, his heart heavy. The servant gestured to Harry to try and get him dressed and the teen sighed, catching sight of the silver ring on his hand.

"I'm in love with someone, you know," he said sadly. "He's a little older than me and really outgoing. He's funny and honest and has the most beautiful eyes. I don't know why he loves me. I've done nothing but lie and cause him trouble."

The servant stopped and stared at Harry thoughtfully. Harry didn't notice and slowly began putting his robes on.

"All I want is to be back with him and my brother and my friends. I don't even care anymore if I have a 'normal' life, I just want one where I get to be with them."

Mr. Silent walked over to the bed and placed a hand on Harry's arm. The teen stared at him in confusion and watched as the man lifted a gnarled finger and touched his temple. A silver strand was stuck to his finger as he pulled away and, for a moment, Harry thought it was one of his hairs, but then he realized it was a memory. He instinctively held his hand out and the servant placed the memory on his palm. As soon as it touched him, Harry was sucked into the past.

*!*!*

Harry wasn't sure where he was. An outrageously large, six story home was before him. A high black fence surrounded the massive yard and was covered with bushes and vines. Next to him stood a young man in his early twenties who was about the same height as Harry. He was a Veela with long black hair tied back into a loose ponytail. His skin had a healthy tan and he was fit. The man looked nervous as he took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself.

As Harry watched him walk to the mansion, his jaw dropped. The man was Mr. Silent, the hunchbacked servant that had been caring for him. He was so young and fit that Harry nearly didn't make the connection. He quickly followed the Veela up the walkway to the door.

A servant answered and looked the Veela up and down. "Yes?"

"Good morning, my name Sebastian Wayne. I have been hired as the new tutor for Lord Latrell Riley."

"Hmph, I'll give you a week," the butler muttered. Sebastian looked confused as the butler turned and lead him inside. Harry quickly followed.

The mansion was large and filled with large stained glass windows. The butler walked quickly so Sebastian and Harry didn't have time to look around. They arrived out back where a an inground pool was surrounded by rocks and small man-made waterfall. In the pool was a teen who was probably a few years younger than Harry. He was floating lazily in the water.

"Master Latrell," the butler called. "Your new tutor is here."

The teen opened a single eye and grumbled in annoyance. He rolled off his inner tube and swam over to the pool edge. He stared up at the two with disinterest. "So?"

"So make yourself presentable and greet him."

The teen sighed and dunked under the water. When he reappeared he was near the steps leading out of the pool. He grabbed a towel and dried off before walking over to the pair. He glared at the butler.

"That'll be all, Harrison."

Harry's jaw dropped once again at the voice. "Gadai!" he shouted in shock. Of course, no one in the memory heard him.

The butler bowed stiffly and left, leaving Sebastian and Gadai alone. The young Gadai looked the man up and down before smirking. "You're not human," he declared. Sebastian looked shocked. "You're a Veela, aren't you?"

"You—you know?"

"I'm a wizard," Gadai announced proudly. "The only one in my family. I'm guess my father doesn't know about you or he would have never hired you. He doesn't like magic much."

Sebastian regained his composure. "I did not feel it was necessary to inform him of my heritage. It had no bearing on this position."

Gadai rolled his eyes. "Well you sure talk like a noble. So you're here to teach me what? Manners or something?"

"I've been hired to teach you proper etiquette along with formal behaviors and customs."

"So basically how to be a ponce."

Sebastian frowned. "That is extremely rude. We will also focus on learning how to hold your tongue."

The teen snorted and walked away. "Whatever. I go through more tutors in a single summer than you will jobs in an entire lifetime. This is such bullshit!"

"A proper noble does not swear," Sebastian scolded, following him.

"Like I'll ever be a 'proper' anything. Me father does this every summer. He hires an entire army of tutors and expects me to work like a dog everyday. I go to boarding school but no, that's not enough for dear ol'da! I have'ta work all summer too instead of relaxing with friends."

"Do not use the word 'me' when referring to yourself. The proper word is 'my.' Also, do not speak in slang or shorthand. Such things are for commoners, not wealthy, well-bred heirs such as yourself."

Gadai stopped and turned to the Veela with a disbelieving face. "I'll talk however I like. You'll be gone within a week."

Sebastian smirked. "Don't be so sure."

*!*!*

Harry was pulled from the memory abruptly and found himself sitting on the bed with Mr. Silent, who he now knew was named Sebastian. He stared at his servant in surprise.

"You know Gadai?" he asked. A thought occurred to him. "Were you the one who left my room unlocked? The one who led me down to his cell?"

The man nodded.

"But why? I thought you worked for Christoph?"

He nodded again before placing a hand on his head and pulling another silver thought from it. Harry held his palms out and was once again sucked into a memory.

*!*!*

Harry was in a dark office, lit only by a fireplace. A young Christoph sat at his desk with his hands folded and looking thoughtful. Behind him stood Nicolas, leaning against the wall and appearing to be bored. Sebastian knelt on the floor before them, his head bowed.

"You may rise," Christoph said and Sebastian did so. "So the boy does not wish to follow in his father's footsteps. This is good, we can use it to our advantage."

"What do you plan, my Lord?" Nicholas asked.

"Latrell Riley will one day take over his muggle father's business empire. If we have him, along with a few other key heirs from the muggle world, conquering the muggles will be easier in the long run. Their money and influence will make our plans go more smoothly. Sebastian, I want you to introduce this boy to my sister. I want to secure his loyalty as soon as possible."

"My Lord, Latrell shows great resistance to our charms."

"He is not but a worthless muggle," Christoph dismissed. "He will succumb to Adeline easily enough. Set up the meeting."

"Yes, my Lord."

*!*!*

The short memory ended and Harry was back in his room. He stared at Sebastian thoughtfully. "So Christoph has been planning this for a lot longer than we realized. He has powerful people already in place in the muggle world, doesn't he?"

Sebastian nodded and held out another memory. Harry waited, confused when the servant hesitated. After a moment he nodded and placed the memory in Harry's hands.

*!*!*

It was obviously a few years later. Gadai was sitting at his pool fully clothed. He looked to be in his early twenties now and his long hair had been cut short. He was a in a tuxedo but it was untucked and unbuttoned. He looked sad as he thoughtfully stared at the sky.

Sebastian walked up to him and sat down, resting his feet in the water. Neither spoke for a long while until Gadai finally turned to him.

"You never worked for my father, did you?"

"No."

"You were trying to control me. Trying to use your Veela powers to enslave my mind."

"Partially," Sebastian answered honestly. "My Lord wanted me to secure your loyalty by any means necessary. If I could not convince you then yes, I was to enslave your mind."

"But I'm a wizard," he pointed out. "We're not nearly as susceptible to your powers as muggles. Your Lord must know this."

"I never told him you had magic."

Gadai frowned. "Why?"

Sebastian shrugged.

"Adeline... the woman you introduced me to, who is she?"

"My Lord's sister."

Gadai nodded. "So your Lord sent in his sister to ensnare my mind and make sure I was loyal to her and in turn, loyal to him. Then, once I took over my father's company, he would have control of my money and influence. He would have a foothold in the muggle world."

"Yes."

"Are there others he's done this to?"

"Yes."

Gadai growled and turned, gripping Sebastian by the shoulders. "Stop with the one word answers! I thought you were my friend! Why are you doing this? Why does your master want power in the muggle world? Why are you telling me all of this now, after years of lying to me?"

Sebastian looked away, his beautiful eyes filled with remorse and guilt. Harry realized exactly what was going on. How many times had he looked at Duo with that exact same face? Sebastian was in love with Gadai. He was telling him the truth now because the guilt was too much for him to bear. Just as Harry had confessed to Duo, Sebastian was now confessing to Gadai.

"You must leave this place," Sebastian stated. "Lady Adeline will be here soon. She will tell your father she is pregnant by you and you will be forced to marry her to avoid a scandal. Once that happens, you will be their pawn for life. You will never escape."

Disgusted, Gadai shoved the Veela away and shot to his feet. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Before he could say anything though, Adeline appeared on the scene. She slammed the door to the house behind her, her face a mask of cold fury. She stalked forward, her heels clicking on the cement.

"So you've chosen to betray us, Sebastian," she sneered. "After a lifetime of loyal service, you turn on us now for this pathetic man?"

Sebastian jumped to his feet. "My Lady, please, we already have so many other muggles under our control. We don't need this one..."

"Be silent! Yours is not to question our King's orders! You are meant to obey and only that!" She turned to Gadai with a sneer. "So you know our plans but that means nothing. Like all other members of your puny race, you will fall to our ways soon enough."

Gadai looked between the two, his face a mask of disgust. "You're wrong," he growled. "I am no one's slave. And you're both too late anyway."

Sebastian looked worried. "What?"

"My father's dead!" he snapped. "His very private funeral just ended." He gestured at the rumbled tuxedo he was wearing. "And as for me taking over the company, you missed the mark on that too! The board forced me out so I got _nothing_! This house doesn't even belong to me anymore! I'm nothing more than a worthless commoner now! No better than a petty thief!"

Sebastian stared at him in shock while Adeline scowled. "So then you are nothing more than a waste of time. If you are not worth anything then there is no point in letting you live any longer."

She summoned a fireball and threw it at Gadai. Sebastian screamed but was too slow to protect the man. Gadai drew his wand and cast a barrier around himself, barely managing to stop the fireball before it hit him. Adeline stared in shock.

"You're a wizard?" she exclaimed.

He smirked. "Surprised? I never trusted you. I can smell a whore a from a mile away, especially one as filthy as you. I only kept you around because it seemed so important to Sebastian." He turned from her affronted face to male Veela. "I'll never forgive you for this. I hope you rot in hell."

Sebastian stepped back as through he had been physically hit. Gadai didn't want any longer and apparated away, Adeline screaming after him. Once he was gone, the woman turned to Sebastian, her face infuriated.

"You have cost us much today," she growled.

"My Lady, forgive me..."

She stalked forward and grabbed him by his throat. "I am tired of hearing your traitorous voice."

The memory ended with Adeline pulling out a knife and Sebastian screaming.

*!*!*

Harry jerked away from the servant, looking horrified at what he had just witnessed. "You loved him," Harry whispered. "You loved him and told him everything but he didn't forgive you. He was too hurt, too betrayed. And that woman... she cut out your tongue! But then why? Why are you still here serving them?"

Sebastian shrugged, as if to say where else would he go? Harry looked at the once handsome man in pity. "So that's why you showed me to the dungeon where Gadai was being held. You were hoping I could save him."

He nodded.

Harry looked thoughtful. "So Christoph has been planning this for years. He has control of powerful and influential business men and woman in the muggle world and now has started to convince people that wizards are evil. Then what's he waiting for? Why hasn't he made his move on the muggle world yet?"

Sebastian raised a single finger and pointed at Harry. The teen stared at him. "Me? What can I do?" He held up his palm and Harry frowned. "Stop him? How? I didn't know any of this was even happening! Hell, I was only a little kid when he started this whole crazy scheme. So how can I stop him?"

Sebastian merely shrugged. Harry growled in frustration. "Well I'll figure something out. Tonight's the stupid engagement ball and everyone will there. I'll find a way to get a message to Trowa and the others and let them know what's happening. Christoph doesn't know it but I have the most powerful business owner in the muggle world on my side. He's not going to win."

Sebastian smiled and nodded. He stood and held out Harry's clothes and the teen took them, suddenly eager to get to the ball.

* * *

**A/N: So I've got half of the next chapter written. Hopefully I won't make you wait too long for Harry to be rescued. I realize the past between Gadai and Sebastian probably raised some questions but they'll be answered soon enough. We've got all the elements in place, now it's time to start wrapping it up and getting ready for the final confrontation. It's going to be fun. **

**So let me know what you thought! Please review! Let's make it to five hundred before the story ends!**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Nice long chapter for you with a fun battle scene at the end. I'm glad everyone liked the backstory I did with Gadai and Sebastian. I was kinda worried it would be rushed or forced. Thank you all for the encouragement!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Twenty-Eight:**

Once the engagement ball had been announced, Harry was allowed out of his room. It would raise questions if he wasn't seen helping with the preparations. Sebastian and a Veela guard were always at his side. To outsiders it merely looked as though Christoph was worried for his safety but Harry knew the guard was there to keep him in check.

The ball would begin in a few hours and Harry watched from the second floor as servants and hired staff worked tirelessly to prepare. The living room had been transformed into a dance area and opened to the back of the mansion, where tables were lined with bright white linen. Trays were set up on the tables but the food wasn't to be put out until exactly a half hour before the event started. Halfway through the night there was a formal dinner for a select few while the rest of the guests would eat off a buffet.

As Harry stood, watching the people below him, a Veela came hurrying up the stairs. Harry was pretty sure her name was Lilliana and she was one of three Veelas who were organizing the entire event. He had to admit the woman was very good at what she did. She didn't miss a single detail and was always on top of every problem that arouse. Harry liked her, and if the situation was any different, he would have enjoyed her taste and company.

"Lord Savior!" she called out. The guard stepped in-between them and she stopped, looking confused. Harry smiled and shoved the man aside, ignoring him.

"Hi Lilliana, what's gone wrong this time?"

The Veela looked upset. "I've just seen your outfit for the ball tonight and it's terrible!" She gasped. "I mean, the outfit is lovely! It'll be so beautiful on you, but they didn't tell me it was going to be green-blue! I thought it was going to be a forest green!"

"And why's this problem?"

"The lights, the lights! They'll clash with your robes! You're the star of tonight! You should shine and this lighting will ruin that!"

"Okay," Harry tried to soothe the woman. "Do you want me to change?"

She gasped, looking horrified at the mere thought. "Of course! That outfit was tailored made for you! You must wear it!"

"So then what do you want to do?"

"We have to change the lights!" Lilliana declared. "All of them. I have the perfect color in mind to replace the current ones."

"But...?"

"But to do it in time, I'm going to need to keep over half my staff later than I planned which means..." she hesitated and Harry smiled at her.

"Do you need more money to cover everything?"

"Yes, about two thousand more for the lights and staff."

Harry held his hands out and the woman quickly handed over a clipboard and quill. He signed his name with a flourish, feeling slightly vindictive that he was spending Christoph's money so easily.

"Oh thank you Lord Savior," Lilliana gushed. "This will make things so much easier!"

"I'm glad I could help. Also, I wanted to ask about the buffet line. Will there be any shrimp on the table?"

"Shrimp? Oh no, Lord Christoph is not a fan of seafood so I decided not to go with it."

"Well it's one of my favorites, is it too late to add it?"

Lilliana looked torn and Harry felt bad for asking the woman to do more work but the woman was nothing if not resourceful.

"I'll get it done!" she declared. She held out the clipboard again. "You might as well sign this, it's going to be expensive."

"Whatever the cost, Christoph will pay it, I assure you."

Harry signed the board again and Lilliana ran off to get to work. Harry caught Sebastian's eye and the servant shook his head. Harry grinned wickedly. He may not be able to fight back, but at least he could annoy Christoph with some extravagant spending.

*!*!*

Later that night, Harry was standing in the ball room and couldn't help but be amazed at how wonderful it looked. Soft lights were floating around the ceiling and twinkling, making it look like a perfectly clear starry night. The buffet tables were lined with gourmet food that looked like it came straight out of a magazine. In the center a was huge display of shrimp and Harry covered a smile when he saw it. If he was being honest, the entire set up looked amazing. Harry would have enjoyed it if it wasn't for the whole being kidnapped and the engagement being a farce.

Sebastian appeared at his elbow and carefully held out a golden headdress. Harry stared at it.

"I thought you were joking," he said. He had seen the golden crown with his clothes but hadn't put it on.

Sebastian shook his head and placed the crown on Harry's head carefully. He adjusted it before stepping back and nodding.

"I feel ridiculous."

Sebastian nodded in conformation, which made Harry scowl. He gestured for the teen to follow and with sigh, Harry did. They ended up in Christoph's study where the King Veela was finishing getting ready. He looked Harry up and down appreciatively.

"Good, you look like a proper Veela mate."

Harry rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Tonight will be very important," Christoph stated. "And you will be on your best behavior. Do not forget our deal."

"I know my place," Harry snapped.

Christoph smirked slightly. "I highly doubt that, little lord." He placed an elaborate silver and gold crown on his forehead and turned to Harry. "And because I doubt that so much, I've decided to take steps to ensure you behave properly."

Harry stiffened, eyeing the Veela distrustfully.

"Many of the staff tonight are made up of my personal guard. They will be watching not only you, but your brother and friends very closely. If this night does not go perfectly, they have orders to do what they feel necessary to remove any... problems."

"You can't hurt my family—"

"I can't," Christoph interrupted. "But Lord Nicolas can. And as you know, he doesn't have the best restraint."

Harry's hands clenched into fists and he ground his teeth angrily.

"This is all simply a warning," Christoph smirked. "If you behave accordingly, none of my preparations will be necessary. Just remember your place and act your part flawlessly and we'll get through this night without any trouble."

*!*!*

The five former pilots along with Ron and Hermione were currently gathered at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley, Fleur, and Ginny had worked tirelessly all day to get everyone ready for the ball that night. Hermione's bushy hair had been pulled into an elaborate braid and she wore a beautiful blue dress with ruffles. Ron had styled his red hair back and wore brown dress robes that were tailored to fit him.

Fleur had put Trowa into black dress robes with silver trim and gold cuffs. She had wanted to do his hair differently but the man refused. He wasn't trying to impress anyone and only agreed to the dress robes to keep up appearances. Quatre chose to ignore the wizard style of wearing robes and instead wore khaki suit pants, a white shirt, and a dark purple vest.

Duo, Wufei, and Heero, wore simple tuxedos, based on the outfits the serving staff would be wearing at the party. While the other four would be at the party, mingling with the guests and sticking close to Harry, Heero's group would blend in with the workers and hide in the shadows.

The plan was straightforward. Duo would lead them to healing wards and they would rescue Gadai. With Gadai safe, Christoph wouldn't have anything to hold over Harry's head. They would signal Trowa, who would then make a very public scene, announcing he was against the marriage and would refuse to give his blessing. By this time, they would have been able to inform Harry that Gadai was safe and he could step forward and freely admit he didn't want the marriage either.

That would leave Christoph with one of two options. The Veela ruler would either have to step aside and save face in public, allowing Harry to leave, or he would contest them and demand the contract be upheld. If he chose that option, Harry would still be allowed to leave with Trowa while the contract would be sent to court and the courts would decide the fate of the marriage. Either way, Harry would be allowed to leave with them and that's what mattered most.

With invitations in hand, the group of seven was ready to go. They bid farewell to the Weasleys and thanked them for their help. Hermione leaned over and kissed Fleur's new baby, cooing at the little girl happily. Ron and Hermione held out a large pillow that acted as a portkey and they were all transported away.

They landed on the expansive grounds and managed to not fall in an undignified heap. Around them noblemen and woman along with powerful diplomats from all over the world were arriving as well. Hermione noticed not a single goblin was present and wasn't surprised. She gathered up her skirts and nodded to Trowa.

"Ready?"

"Yes." He held his arm out to Quatre who took it.

Ron turned to Heero. "The servants will be gathered around back, probably close to the houses."

"Keep up appearances and make no move until we have secured Gadai," Heero ordered.

"Be careful," Hermione said. Duo rolled his eyes and smirked at the woman before the three hurried off. Once they were gone, Ron offered Hermione his arm and group of four made their way to the doors. They handed over their invitations and entered without any trouble.

"Where would Harry be?" Quatre asked.

"He won't show up until most of the guests have arrived," Hermione answered. "He and Christoph will be announced together, as they're the two being honored tonight."

"Spread out and mingle casually with the people here," Trowa ordered. "Watch carefully for guards disguised as guests or staffers."

Hermione and Ron nodded and split away from the two. Despite the seriousness of the evening, Ron eyed the buffet table with obvious interests. Hermione giggled at him.

"Really? I should of known you'd be hungry."

"Guy's gotta eat," Ron shrugged. He stopped outside and looked over the large appetizer table. "Harry hates shrimp."

Hermione hmm-ed and gestured with her head towards the other side of the room. "There's Kingsley." Ron turned to look and spotted the Minister with three other people, two men and woman.

"Isn't that the Minister of Bulgaria?"

"Yeah, the woman is his wife and I'm not sure who the other person is. Probably a diplomat from their country." She scanned the crowd with her eyes. "Over there is the American President with his wife. And the French leader is here as well."

"Geez, every important person in the world came tonight."

"This is a huge event," Hermione pointed out. "The King of the Veela is announcing his marriage to the Lord Savior. The only think that concerns me is the lack of representatives from the magical community. I understand why none of the Goblins showed up but what the other intelligent races? Where are they?"

"No leprechauns, nymphs, fairies..." Ron listed. "Do you think they weren't invited or just refused to show up?"

"I have no idea." Hermione nudged Ron and pointed. "But look who is here."

"Is that Malfoy?" Ron sneered. The young heir was standing with a very pregnant Astoria Greengrass. The two were dressed nicely and spoke with their nose in the air.

"Well it is the social event of the season," Hermione pointed out. "There's bound to be just about every pureblood heir here. I didn't realize Astoria was already pregnant though."

"Whatever, let's avoid them."

"Sounds good to me."

The wandered away from the table and spotted Trowa and Quatre across them room. They were standing with Kingsley and chatting politely with some diplomats. Hermione looked around and noticed the stream of people arriving had slowed down to a mere trickle.

"It won't be long now," she said.

Ron looked around and spotted Duo serving some drinks with a wide smile. He frowned. "What's he doing?"

"He must have gotten roped into serving," Hermione guessed. "They are pretending to be staffers."

A loud horn suddenly blared and everyone fell quiet. The lights dimmed and a spotlight appeared at the top of the stairs. A magically enhanced voice spoke clearly throughout the area.

"Ladies and Lords, honored diplomats, and all guests, please turn your attention to the stairs as we will now introduce the honored couple of the night. Welcome High King Christoph Van Vitrol of the Ancient Veela City Vitrol; Master of Magic and current Ruler of the Veela Nation."

There was loud applause as Christoph stepped into view. He was wearing flowing silver robes with gold trim. His hair had been pulled back and an elaborate crown adorned his head.

"And now please welcome for the first time, Harry James Potter, Lord Savior, The Chosen One, The-Boy-Who-Lived, Master of the House of Black, High Lord of the Ancient Potter name, and King Christoph's new fiancee."

Harry appeared at the top of the stairs to much applause. He looked very awkward and unhappy about being in the spotlight but managed to straighten his shoulders and step forward with his head held high. He turned and nodded to Christoph before accepting the man's arm. They walked down the steps together and the applause didn't end until they reached the bottom. Once they had, the lights were restored and everyone began clamoring for their attention.

Ron turned to where he had spotted Duo, only to find the braided man gone. He didn't see him anywhere in the crowds and hoped Duo had use the entrance as an opportunity to slip away unnoticed. Ron tossed his napkin into a nearby bin and squared his shoulders.

"Well, shall we go fight the crowds to get to our friend?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. "Let's."

*!*!*

"What took you so long?" Wufei hissed as Duo slipped into the bushes where he and Heero were waiting.

"Didn't you hear?" Duo grumbled. "They were introducing the couple of the night."

It was the first time Duo had seen Harry since he was kidnapped nearly five weeks ago. He was a little skinnier than he should be but looked fine otherwise. His eyes were heavy and Duo knew the kid was not happy with the situation. Harry hated attention and crowds and he was currently being mobbed with both. As soon as they found this Gadai person, Duo would personally push his way through the crowds to be standing next to Harry when Trowa made his announcement.

"The security is lax the further away from the ball we go," Heero stated. "Which direction?"

Wufei took the lead as the three silently ran through the night unnoticed. They passed a single healer walking down the hall, staring forlornly at where the ball was being held. The three muggles easily ran past her until they stopped where the hallway split.

"This is where that guy came from the secret passage," Duo reported. "So the guy we're looking for could be in either direction."

"Duo and I will go left, Wufei go right," Heero ordered. Without a word they split up. Duo and Heero didn't speak as they ran silently down the hall. The came to the end where large doors were shut tightly.

Duo very quietly turned the knob, slightly surprised when it wasn't locked. Heero stood to the side, drawing his gun. With a nod to Duo, the man opened the door and pushed it open, dodging to the side. Heero waited for a moment but when no one came out to check the hall, he slowly peered inside.

It was a hospital room with four beds, three of which had patience in them. The Veela were all sound asleep and didn't flinch when Duo and Heero walked in. To the back was an area hidden behind thick curtains. Duo nodded to Heero before kneeling low and peering around the curtains. A human man was lying the bed, covered in bandages. His eyes were open but he was staring at the ceiling.

"Whoever ye'be," he said calmly. "I'm in no condition to move but I promise ya, I won't die without a damn good fight."

Duo glanced at Heero who nodded. Cautiously, Duo stood and walked near the bed, his gun drawn but pointed down. "You Gadai?"

"Who's askin'?"

"Your rescuers," Duo muttered and slipped his weapon away. He walked over to the man and noticed he wasn't hooked up to any machines or IVs. "Can you walk or just threaten?"

Gadai turned to him and frowned. "Who are you?"

"None of your business," Duo answered. He grabbed the thief's arm and pulled him up carefully. The man groaned in complaint. "Shut up. We need to get you out of here before anyone notices."

"You're with the Savior, aren't ya?" Gadai whispered, gasping slightly from the movement. "That damn kid don't have an ounce of sense. You should be saving him, not me."

"Saving you is part one of the plan to saving him," Duo assured. "Now shut up and walk."

Gadai held his chest and leaned heavily on Duo as they made their way from the room as quietly as they could. The man shook his head, feeling dizzy. He could see blood seeping through his bandages and knew he wasn't going to make it far. Duo hiked him up slightly and pressed on, more dragging than helping the man now.

When the made it to the hallway, Wufei was waiting for them. He came around Gadai's other side to relieve some of the burden on his friend.

"What's your plan now?" Gadai asked. "I do hope you have one."

"You will portkey to a safe location," Heero stated. "After which, we will continue with our mission to save Harry."

Gadai glanced at Duo. "You're him, ain't ya? Kid's always talking about some guy with pretty eyes and long hair."

Duo grunted. "Yeah well, he's mine. Christoph's just being a pain in the ass."

Gadai started to laugh but ended up coughing. A small amount of blood gathered in his mouth and his knees gave out, making Duo and Wufei stumble.

"Come on," Duo complained. "I'm not hear to save you, you know. Just hold on a few more minutes. We're almost there."

"The pool," Gadai gasped. "Take me to the healing pool."

Duo looked at Wufei and Heero. The thief obviously wasn't going to make it back to the lawn. His face was pale and blood was seeping through his bandages. He could barely walk and if they were spotted now, Wufei and Duo wouldn't be able to help Heero in protecting them.

"Quickly," Heero decided.

They hurried to the indoor pool that Duo and Wufei had discovered before. They entered silently but no one was around. As soon as they were at the water's edge, Gadai struggled to push the two away.

"Just let me sink."

"You're joking right? You'll drown!"

"Not in these waters boy," Gadai grinned.

He collapsed and Duo and Wufei let him go. They all flinched at the loud splash and looked around themselves wearily. After two long minutes, Duo was about ready to jump in after the man but he didn't have to. Gadai surfaced with a gasp and swam to the edge of the pool,breathing hard.

"How's that for tainting your precious pools, damn Veela," he smirked to himself.

Duo and Wufei hefted the man from the water, confused when he came out completely dry. Gadai smiled at their confusion.

"Magic healing water," he explained. "The water stays in the pool and never leaves it, hence my dry state."

Though he was still injured, Gadai could now walk on his own. He was still in obvious pain but the thief was able to push past it.

Heero lead the way back to the doors and after making sure the coast was clear, he gestured for the others to follow. The group made it to the main compound and ducked behind some bushes. The party was clearly visible now and they had to be cautious.

"So what's the plan?" Gadai asked.

"Portkeys are allowed to be activated on the lawn," Heero said. He took a stone from his pocket and shoved it into Gadai's hands. "You will take this and escape. Once you are safely away, we will be able to rescue Harry and follow you."

"But what's your actual plan for getting the boy out of here?" Gadai demanded. "With that ring on his finger, Christoph can summon him back from anywhere in a heartbeat."

"We've got it covered," Duo assured. "Now stop asking questions and get out of here. The longer we wait, the more of a pain this is going to be."

Gadai didn't look convinced but he decided not to argue. His injuries would just make him a liability and cause everyone trouble if he stayed.

"Well it's not in me nature to hang around for a fight I don't need ta'be in," Gadai shrugged. "What's the password?"

"Activate."

Gadai stared at Heero before shrugging. "How boringly un-creative."

The man ran from their hiding place without warning and made a b-line for the large lawn. One or two of the servants looked his way as he hurried past but most ignored him. Once he was on the lawn he turned towards where the other three were hiding and waved once before vanishing. Once he was gone, Heero, Wufei, and Duo carefully crawled out from the bushes and casually joined the other wait staff.

"The guards are probably going to try and stop us," Wufei pointed out.

"I would love that," Duo grinned wickedly.

"Get to Quatre and Trowa," Heero ordered. "I'll find Ron and Hermione. Tell them part one of the plan was successful and we may now begin part two."

"On it," Duo assured. He grabbed a tray of wine glasses and made his way into the crowd, a wicked smile on his face. Wufei turned to Heero.

"Be careful."

"You as well."

The two grabbed their own trays of wine and food and began searching for their friends in the crowd.

*!*!*

Harry had managed to take two steps away from the stairs in the last half hour. Well-wishers had been flocking to him and Christoph in droves. Harry smiled as patiently as he could while nodding and saying thanks over and over again. Next to him, Christoph kept a firm hold on his elbow, making it very clear to Harry that he wasn't going anywhere and needed to be on his best behavior.

Finally, relief came when Quatre appeared at the front of the crowd. Harry was so relieved to see him he interrupted whatever diplomat was speaking at the time and grinned widely.

"Quatre!"

The blonde surprised Harry by stepping forward throwing his arms around his neck in a hug.

"Harry! It's so good to see you!" he said loudly. He leaned close to Harry's ear and whispered, "We got the message and took care of it," before stepping back with a large grin. "Our last meeting was so unpleasant, I'm happy we're here now."

"Me too," Harry assured him. He turned and saw Trowa, smiling widely at his brother. Harry moved toward him but Christoph's hand on his elbow suddenly tightened and he stopped, barely managing to not glare at the Veela King.

"I'm glad you're doing well, little brother," Trowa stated.

"I was worried I wouldn't see you," Harry admitted. "I'm glad you're here."

"As am I."

Christoph firmly pulled Harry closer to him. "Well we've stood here so long it is now time for dinner," he announced. "Come little lord, no one may begin until we have sat."

The crowd finally dispersed and Harry managed to catch a glimpse of Ron and Hermione among the people. They were accepting drinks from a waiter Harry was positive was Heero. If Heero was here as well, that meant they all were. He tried to scan the staff discreetly, hoping for a glimpse of Duo.

The main dinning room had one long table set up covered in a pristine white cloth. It was set for thirty people and Christoph sat at the head with Harry on his right side. Nicholas and Adeline were directly to his left along with the members of the Veela Council Harry remembered meeting once a long time ago. Next to Harry, Kingsley took a seat. The two paused for a moment and stared at each other. It was the first time Harry had seen Kingsley since before the man sold him as part of a peace contract.

Harry smiled and pat the man's arm. "It's good to see you, Kingsley," he said honestly. The relief on the older man's face was heartwarming.

"You as well, my young friend."

Harry grinned and they took their seats. "Where's Catherine?"

"She wasn't feeling well so decided to stay at home," Kingsley spoke loudly for anyone listening. He glanced around before saying much quieter. "I wasn't sure what would happen tonight so I asked her to not to come just in case."

Harry nodded and turned as Christoph stood with a drink in his hand. "Thank you for coming tonight to celebrate this auspicious occasion with myself and my family. We are both honored and humbled by your presence. Today marks not only a change in my own life, but a strong union between the wizards and Veelas that has not existed before now. This union between myself and Harry Potter is not merely two people coming together in holy matrimony, but also a sign of our two nations becoming one and stronger allies." He smiled brightly and everyone watching swooned a little at his charm. "There will be plenty of time later for speeches and well-wishes, for now, let us enjoy the meal that has been prepared for us. Thank you."

The table applauded as Christoph sat down. The food appeared, looking stunning and mouthwatering. The diplomats ooh-ed and awe-ed before digging in. Though Harry didn't have much of an appetite he forced himself to eat anyway. The food was melt-in-your-mouth delicious and probably the only thing he would enjoy tonight.

Halfway through the meal, waiters appeared to take the dirty plates before the next course was served. A waiter appeared by Harry's side and the teen leaned back to get out of the way. He stopped and stared in shock as Duo's face was suddenly very close to him as he reached for the dirty plate. He smiled widely at Harry and Harry grinned back, barely resisting the urge to throw his arms around the man's neck and kiss him. Duo winked before turning to Trowa, who was watching them both. He nodded once and straightened.

Trowa nodded back and suddenly stood. Quatre leaned across the table, grabbing Harry's hand briefly. "Trust us," he ordered, and then stood next to his husband. All eyes turned to the couple in confusion.

"Lord Christoph," Trowa called. His quiet voice was heard by everyone as they fell silent, expecting a speech. Christoph eyed the man wearily before smiling indulgently. "This show you have put on is a beautiful and a well crafted one, but now it must come to an end."

Christoph frowned. "I'm afraid I do not understand, Lord Potter."

"I, as head of the Potter household, do not support this union. I accuse you of threatening my brother into this union and using deceit and trickery to get what you want. I hereby declare this engagement a farce and order it dissolved immediately."

The room was absolutely silent. No one even dared gasp at the dramatic exclamation Trowa had made. Christoph's face was carefully blank but his eyes blazed with fury. Next to him, Nicolas shifted, his hand resting on his hip where he hid a knife.

"As we have discussed already in private," Christoph stated, his voice carefully controlled. "Your blessing is not required when both I and Harry have agreed to the union."

"And as I have said, he would not agree to it of you were not threatening him."

At this point, Kingsley stood and added his voice. "I am the one who signed the marriage contract and made it official because I was under the impression Mr. Potter agreed to it. If this is not true, it must be rectified immediately and the contract disbanded."

At this point, all eyes turned to Harry. The teen sat frozen in his seat, unsure of what to do. He wanted nothing more than to agree with Trowa's words but he had Gadai to think about. Not to mention all the guards posing as staff members that would be ready to fight if he stepped out of line. Harry looked up and caught Quatre's eye. The blonde was smiling gently and looked so confident that Harry knew what he had to do. He had to trust his family.

"It's the truth," he declared. "I never wanted to marry Christoph. I did it because I felt I had no other choice. He threatened my family and the entire wizarding world with war if I did not corporate." Harry glanced over his shoulder and saw Duo there, smirking with approval. "I'm in love with someone else!"

This time the crowd did gasp. Christoph shot to his feet so fast his chair went flying, his face blazing with raw fury. Harry stood quickly and moved closer to Kingsley, bracing himself for a fight. His magic had begun to return but was still pretty shaky. He wasn't strong enough to fight without his wand and he hadn't had that since Christoph kidnapped him.

"You have harmed my family," Trowa declared loudly. "I demand you are punished for your crimes."

"You dare make these accusations of me in my own home?" Christoph growled. A cold chill swept through the room and the diplomats close to the front of the table slowly scooted away. "You think you can make a fool out of me and escape unscathed?"

A wind began to blow from nowhere and the other guests not in the main dining room stopped to look around in confusion. Ron and Hermione came running in, joining Duo, Heero, and Wufei at the door. From her dress, Hermione pulled out a small purse and held it open. The three muggles reached in and pulled out weapons from the bottomless purse.

"Get ready," Duo ordered the four standing around him.

"You brought this on yourself!" Harry shouted. "I told you you could never control me!"

"Insolent boy!" Christoph shouted. The floor shook with the sound of his voice and he raised a hand. Lightening shot from his finger tips so fast no one had the chance to move. Harry's hand came up on its own accord and the magic hit him dead on. He was thrown backward into Kingsley, knocking the gold crown from his forehead.

Quatre and Trowa jumped over the table and stood before Harry protectively. The others ran to their side, their weapons raised. Harry stood, looking down at his hand where the magic had hit him. He held it up and watched as the silver engagement ring crumbled and was destroyed. The band on Christoph's finger did the same.

"You have attempted to kill your contracted fiance," Kingsley declared. "By the laws of magic, the marriage is officially off and the contract destroyed."

Around them, wizards began drawing their wands. The leader from Bulgaria stepped forward, his hand shaking with rage.

"How dare you!" he shouted. "How dare you try and harm the Lord Savior! To coercer him in such a manner! You shall be tried and punished for your crimes!"

Christoph laughed at him. "And what can you puny wizards do to me? I am the King of the Veela! Guards! Arrest them!"

At his words, all the disguised guards transformed. The wizards, wanting to defend their beloved Savior, drew their wands and engaged them in battle while Harry and his group ran for cover. Four Veela appeared before them and Ron and Hermione threw up battle shields around the group. As the Veela attacked, Wufei drew his sword and swung precisely, cutting off the wing of one Veela. The man screeched in agony as he fell, transforming back into his human form. Blood spilled around him as he moaned on the floor.

The other three raised their claws in rage, all aiming for Harry. That turned out to be a mistake as it left them wide open for attack from the sides. Trowa easily shot one Veela in the side, making the creature fall. Quatre dodged the next one's claws and pulled a dagger from his sleeve, slashing the man across the stomach. Ron and Hermione cast twin _Reducto_ curses at the last one, sending him flying across the room into a wall.

"Split up!" Heero ordered. "We're too easy a target as a large group. Duo, Trowa, take Harry to the portkey point. Quatre, stay with Ron and Hermione and provide cover, Wufei come with me!"

"Where are you two going?" Duo demanded, grabbing Harry's hand tightly.

"To find Christoph," Wufei said grimly. "We will need to know his fighting prowess for the future."

"No!" Harry exclaimed. "He's a lot stronger than you think! If you..."

"Duo, take him and go," Heero ordered, ignoring Harry's protests. He and Wufei ran into the screaming crowds and were quickly lost from sight.

"You heard the man," Duo shouted over the sounds of screaming and fighting. "Split up and meet back at Quatre's place. Once you've got a shot to get out safely, take it!"

Duo dragged Harry after him as the group separated. They ran into the main hall and flinched as a table nearby was suddenly engulfed in flame. Trowa skid to a stop and turned, aiming his gun and firing three shots rapidly. The Veela fell to the ground, each dead with a single bullet hole through the forehead. Duo kicked a table over and shoved Harry behind it, giving them a moment to breathe and search for the fastest escape route.

"What happened to no more killing?" Harry asked grimly as Trowa slid next to them.

"That's Heero's rule," Trowa answered calmly.

"We'll kill if it's necessary," Duo added. He peered out from the table quickly before ducking back down. "There's no clear path. Quatre and his group are on the far side of the room trying to get out the main entrance. I think we should duck out the back and run around the building."

"Where are we trying to get?" Harry asked.

"The front lawn is the only place that allows portkeys," Trowa answered. "There's no other way to leave without being forced to run into the city."

Harry nodded and suddenly all three men flinched as a loud crack echoed in the air around them. They ducked their heads as small pieces of shrimp rained down on them briefly. Harry blinked before snorting, smiling slightly.

"I think shrimp is my new favorite food."

"What?" Duo asked, looking confused.

"Get ready to move!" Trowa ordered.

"Put that battle shield up!" Duo told Harry, climbing to his heels and getting ready to run.

Harry quickly scrambled up. "I can't."

"What? Why not?"

"I don't have access to my magic right now," Harry explained quickly. "I haven't been able to use it since I woke up from my coma."

Trowa and Duo turned to stare at him in shock. "You have been stuck with that sick fucker for all this time with _no_ magic to protect yourself with?" Duo demanded.

Harry shook his head. "It's just exhausted. It's coming back slowly, I just need a little more time to rest."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Trowa demanded.

A crash stopped the oncoming argument and the three flinched. Duo whipped around, shaking an angry finger at him. "You... get ready to move!"

Duo grabbed Harry's hand and they moved on Trowa's signal. The three dashed past other guests were screaming and trying to escape. Harry slowed down to help a woman who had fallen but Duo tightened his grip and dragged him on. He wasn't here to save random civilians, he was here to save his lover and he wasn't going to let his lover's hero-complex get in the way of that.

Once outside, the noise of fighting quieted slightly. The battles were mostly contained in the house but a few could be seen fighting on the back lawn. Flashes of fire lit up the dark sky and the screeches of fully transformed Veela could be heard. Trowa and Duo turned left, running in the direction of the healing spas. They kept their weapons ready and stayed low as the three made their way back to the front lawn.

Harry stopped abruptly when he spotted a lone figure hunched and running towards one of the healing pools. Even in the dark and from far away, Harry could tell it was Sebastian. The hunchbacked servant was easy to spot. Duo tugged his arm but Harry dug his heals into the ground.

"Wait!" he exclaimed and tried to pull his hand away. "I have to get someone first!"

"What the hell kid?" Duo demanded.

Harry broke free from his hold and ran after the servant. Sebastian was a good person who didn't deserve the hard life he'd been dealt. He lived for years in seclusion, his tongue cut out and cursed to obey the very people that mutilated him. The servant had been nothing but kind and deserved a chance to see Gadai once again.

Trowa and Duo were hot on his heels as Harry watched Sebastian enter one of the healing spas. He followed quickly, pushing the doors open and skidding to a stop. Sebastian was on his knees before Christoph and Lady Adeline. Off to the side, Duo spotted Heero and Wufei watching from behind a pillar.

"You wretched traitorous thief!" Adeline screeched.

The Veela woman lifted her hand and a whip of fire shot from her fingertips and curled around the servant's neck. He was lifted into the air before being thrown harshly. The smell of burning flesh filled the air and Harry could see Sebastian was screaming in pain, though he made no sound. The Veela fell into the water of the healing pool and Harry didn't hesitate to dive in after him. He felt Duo and Trowa's fingers graze the back of his clothes but neither one managed to grab him in time.

As Harry hit the water he was overcome with warmth. He felt like he was wrapped up in a large comforter on a soft bed with perfect pillows. It was soothing and he had the urge to just let himself curl up and sink to the bottom on the pool forever. He shook the feeling away, spotting Sebastian a few feet away in the water. The man's eyes were open in shock and Harry swam towards him, grabbing his hand.

As Harry dragged them both up towards the surface, his body began to hum. His magic was building inside of him, returning with a vengeance. The weakness he had been suffering with the last few weeks was gone and Harry felt stronger than ever. The magical pool healed him and gave him strength he hadn't felt since that day in the ruins of Hogwarts when he had finally defeated Voldemort.

The two burst from the water, completely dry, and landed hard on the concrete. Harry's body was pulsing with magic and, though he couldn't see it himself, his eyes were glowing brightly. His magic was practically singing with desire to be used and his body was vibrating with the effort to keep it contained.

Adeline stepped forward, her face a mask of ugly fury. "You will pay for this insult with your life!" she screeched and transformed.

Harry felt like he was having an out of body experience. Part of him knew he shouldn't fight the woman right now. His friends were nearby and his magic was out of control from the pool. But the other part, the part that was thrumming with power, was excited. Lady Adeline was one of the most powerful Veela in the Kingdom and he wanted nothing more than to punch her in her sorry face. The violent part won the brief internal debate and Harry released Sebastian to charge at the woman.

His magic gave him speed he didn't realize he had. Harry raised a fist to strike and absently noticed light was swirling around his fist. He wasn't entirely sure what it was but didn't much care in that moment. The Veela woman managed to dodge his attack and summoned her fire whip, lashing out at Harry. He didn't even both to dodge it and raised a hand, catching the whip easily. He squeezed his fist and the whip died in a poof of smoke. Harry smirked at the woman's shocked face.

He charged again, this time not moving as fast. He let Adeline dodge his attacks, watching her and learning her fighting patterns while he toyed with her. Her beak was open slightly and she panted, starting to tire. Harry's smile was cruel as he increased his pace, still riding the high the magical spa had created in him. Adeline attempted to catch him off guard but spreading her wings and jumping into the air and attacking from above.

Harry had been anticipating the move. He planted his feet and looked up, allowing the creature to swipe him with her claws. She crowed in triumph but the sound died in her throat as Harry turned towards her, still smiling cruelly. The cuts she had caused stitched themselves up quickly, his magic healing him. Harry made a fist again and slammed it into her face, sending the woman flying backwards so fast and hard she crashed through the stone wall of the spa.

She did not get up again.

Though the fight had been fun, it did not satisfy Harry's violent side. He was so powerful right now no force on Earth could stop him! He wanted more. He wanted to fight and hit and attack and use his magic how he saw fit. Harry's peaceful half was screaming at himself to stop but the out of control magic coursing through him ignored the please for sanity.

Harry spotted Christoph and smirked. He would do.

Christoph was frowning, his face oddly calm as he watched Harry stalk towards him. The Veela was watching him calculatingly and Harry's slightly crazed mind laughed at him. He should be weary, he should be cautious. Harry was going to defeat him right here and right now and end this obnoxious ordeal once and for all. And after that, he would begin hunting. He would find any other evil or corrupt people in the world and put a stop to whatever ridiculous scheme they came up with. Harry was the one with the power now.

Christoph summoned his wings and vanished from his spot. Harry swung around, spotting the man next to his sister. He gathered up her broken body and leapt into the sky. Harry followed, running out onto the lawn and staring up at then. He had never flown without a broom before but with how much power he had, the teen figured it would be easy. He summoned his magic around him and pushed up from the ground. Clouds formed around his feet as Harry lifted himself into the air, smirking the whole time.

Christoph hovered in the sky, still holding his sister. He shifted her carefully before holding up a hand. His eyes took on an eerie glow and the wind around them picked up speed. Christoph's hand began to swirl with blue magic and lightening cracked through the sky around them. Harry shivered as he felt the awesome power that was behind the attack. He summoned his own magic, excited for the upcoming fight. Below him he didn't notice his friends screaming or their worried and awed faces.

Christoph launched his attack towards the teen. A flash of blue lightening shot directly towards Harry's heart. He held up his hands and a shield of light appeared, taking the full force of the bolt. Harry was sent reeling backwards in the air and almost lost his concentration and fell, but managed to recover in time. He grinned and banished his shield, looking for Christoph and expecting another attack, but the Veela King was gone. The skies were empty of his presence.

Enraged, Harry twisted and screamed. He called up his super-charged magic, wanting to hunt the man down and defeat him properly. Before he had a chance, the bracelet on his wrist exploded with heat. Startled, Harry was caught off guard when two beams of light, one yellow, one red, shot up from the ground and wrapped around his wrist. Slowly, Harry felt his magic begin to calm down. He sank towards the Earth as his super powers left him.

As the excess magic was drained from him into his bracelet, Harry's mind began to clear. He no longer wanted to go running around the world hunting evil. He didn't want to fight anymore. He wanted to go home and be with Duo and Trowa and his friends. By the time Harry's feet touched the ground, he was back in control of his mind and magic. He blinked at Ron and Hermione, who lowered their wrists and their bracelets stopped glowing.

"Whoa," he whispered and swayed slightly. Duo appeared at his side and steadied him.

"Well at least we know these things work," Ron commented, sounding out of breath. "I was hoping we never had to test it."

"They did exactly what they were designed to do," Hermione added. "We may use them as a communication devices and a means to keep track of one another, but the true purpose of the bracelets was to contain our magic if one of us ever lost control like that."

"You mean me," Harry mumbled. "They're meant to contain me if I go crazy." He shook his head. "It was that water. It just... brought everything out of me all at once. I was overwhelmed."

"It's a healing spa," Hermione pointed out. "It healed your magic a little _too_ well."

"I'll say."

Harry closed his eyes and rested his head on Duo's shoulder. Now that his magic was calmed down, he felt exhausted. Duo wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"Let's get the fuck outta here already," he muttered.

There was a chorus of agreements and Quatre, Trowa, and Heero pulled out their portkeys. Everyone reached out to touch one but Harry paused, looking over his shoulder.

"Sebastian!" he called. The servant was standing a few feet away, looking indecisive. "You coming?"

The man stared at him.

Harry smiled. "Come on. Gadai's with us, and you want to see him again, right? It's been years, I think you've suffered more than enough."

The servant stepped forward and from his sleeve pulled out Harry's wand. Harry's eyes lit up happily as he took it. He had thought Christoph destroyed it.

"Come on," Harry grabbed the man and pushed his finger to the portkey. "Let's go home."

The portkeys activated and everyone was jerked away.

* * *

**A/N: So in the books Voldemort could fly without a broomstick and my thought was that Harry's stronger so he can do it too. Also in various different lore/shows/books, lightening is an extension of fire magic so Christoph, being the strongest Veela, has reached that level. I hope you all enjoyed the super powered fight scene.**

**And now Harry's finally back with his family and the marriage contract is officially gone. If you try and kill your fiance, you end the contract immediately. I'm aiming to end this story in about five more chapters, give or take. Endings have always been my weakest writing so I'm going to try really hard to do this right.**

**Let me know what you thought! Please REVIEW! :D**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Wow, has it really been seven months? Doesn't feel like that long since an update. The first part of this chapter has a bit of summarizing since it's been so long. Sorry if it gets dull. **

**Please enjoy.**

**Chapter Twenty-Nine:**

Harry stretched like a cat, pulling the blanket covering him down slightly. His bare skin developed goosebumps the minute the cold air touched it. He shivered slightly and turned towards Duo's warm body, snuggling tightly to his boyfriend. Duo's tired arms came around him and pulled him closer.

"Good morning," Duo greeted.

Harry responded with some unintelligible sound that made the older man laugh. The teen reached up and pinched him soundly on the arm, making Duo jerk away in surprise.

"What the hell, kid?" he demanded.

"Just making sure I'm not dreaming."

"You're supposed to pinch yourself," Duo complained. He reached out and pinched Harry, who whined in complaint. "There, now you know you're awake."

Harry laughed and opened his eyes. He reached over Duo for his glasses and slipped them on. He smiled at his boyfriend, feeling his heart swell. He hadn't been with Duo for so long that even though Harry knew he was awake, he still worried he was dreaming.

"I love you," Harry said quietly.

"I love you too," Duo answered, kissing him gently. He pulled away, smiling at Harry's relaxed face. "So you ready to face the 'outside' world?"

Harry groaned and hid his face, smashing his glasses against his nose. Duo laughed. The two had been hiding in Duo's room since Harry's rescue last night. It was nearly one in the afternoon now and Harry had no desire to leave the bed.

"I want to go back to being James," Harry admitted, nuzzling Duo's shoulder. "I want to go back to being a Preventer and your partner. No magic or worries about Veela plots for world domination."

"Nah, that's the wrong direction," Duo argued. "You should never go backwards in life, it messes up your future."

Harry grumbled something about Duo pretending to be wise and the older man whacked him on the head. Laughing, Harry kicked off the covers and stood. Duo watched him stretch and leaned over, taking his hand and toying gently with the bracelet. Harry pulled away.

"Careful," he warned. "You can't take this off without permission. It'll blow up."

"Of course it will," Duo muttered with a roll of his eyes. "How did you get it back, anyway? Your friends had it."

"It automatically comes back to me when I'm in life-threatening danger," Harry explained. "I needed help controlling my magic so it appeared on my wrist."

"You went a little crazy for coco puffs for a minute there," Duo teased. "Didn't realize you had that kind of power in you."

Harry glanced at him, relieved when Duo merely looked thoughtful and not worried or frightened. "We weren't lying when we said I'm the most powerful wizard currently alive."

"That power doesn't mean anything if you can't control it," Duo pointed out, swinging out of the bed. "My Gundam was the most powerful mobile suit during the war but that didn't mean shit until I learned to pilot it like a bad ass."

Harry shrugged and entered the bathroom to shower. Duo followed him and the two took a much longer shower than necessary. When they were finally finished and dressed it was nearly two thirty in the afternoon. Harry jumped the last step down the stairs of Quatre's mansion and allowed himself a large smile, glad that he was back with his friends and family.

"You know," he spoke suddenly, turning to Duo, "I think I'm homeless."

"What?"

"Well, I gave up my lands and title to Trowa, so technically all the Potter homes are his now. And I don't work for the Preventers anymore so I don't have an apartment in the city." Harry nodded. "I am. I'm currently homeless."

The couple entered the dining room as Harry spoke. A moment later, Harry nearly fell as a bundle of three year old energy slammed into his legs. Harry reached down and with a big smile and lifted his Godson into the air.

"Teddy-bear! I've missed you!"

"You're back!" Teddy cried. He wrapped his arms around Harry's neck. "I miss you!"

Harry hugged the boy tightly and rested him on his hip when it became obvious Teddy wasn't letting go anytime soon. At the table sat all of the Preventers and Harry's friends. Sebastian and Gadai were seated furthest away from the head of the table and Andromeda was next to them.

"Did I just hear you say you're homeless?" Hermione asked. She stood from her seat and kissed him on the cheek.

"Well Trowa technically owns everything now, right?" Harry asked, taking a seat next to his brother with a smile. Duo plopped down next to Heero, a silly grin on his face.

"That doesn't mean you can't use them," Hermione pointed out. "You're still a Potter and still allowed to use your family's homes and money."

"And now that the marriage contract is officially destroyed, Trowa can give everything back," Quatre added.

Harry glanced at his brother before shrugging. "Nah, you can keep it. I'm not interested in being a Lord anymore."

Trowa raised a delicate eyebrow at him. "Nor am I."

Harry laughed at his blunt answer. "So what's been going on guys?" he asked, addressing the table at large. "How are your wounds, Latrell?"

Gadai paused mid-bite when Harry used his real name and turned a glare on Sebastian. The Veela merely shrugged and pretended to pick dirt from his nails.

"Healing nicely," Gadai answered after a moment. "Veela healing spas work wonders on all creatures."

Harry made a face. "I'll say."

Gadai grinned. "Yes, I heard of your little power trip after my departure. You used your bracelet to control your magic?"

Harry held it out for Gadai to look over. While he did, Hermione spoke. "After Voldemort's defeat Harry had trouble containing his power. Once the horcrux inside of him was completely destroyed the magic it was blocking was released."

"We didn't know about it," Harry admitted. "I no idea that being a horcrux was stopping me from accessing my full power. And because the horcrux was created when I was baby, it meant the magic had been blocked my entire life. So when I got it back, I wasn't used to it and had a lot of trouble controlling it."

"Especially when he was mad," Ron jumped in. "Remember when that bloke broke into your house in the country?"

Harry groaned while Hermione scrunched up her face. "That was awful!" she exclaimed.

"It was wicked!" Ron corrected.

"I blew up the entire house on accident! How is that wicked?" Harry demanded.

"Because the fire was _purple_! That guy nearly shat himself trying to run away." Ron laughed while Harry rolled his eyes.

"You blew up your house?" Wufei interrupted the laughing redhead. Harry shrugged.

"I lost my temper and didn't have full control of my magic at the time. It was the reason we started researching ways to help with out of control magic."

"Because Harry's so powerful we had a lot of trouble finding a method that worked," Hermione explained. "It wasn't until we found out about the volcano stones that we finally found a method that efficient. The stones are powerful enough to contain all of Harry's magic if he loses control."

"These are volcano stones?" Gadai demanded, jerking Harry's wrist harshly to get a better look. Harry made a sound of complaint as he accidentally squished Teddy, who was still sitting in his lap. Duo scowled and not so gently removed Gadai's hand from Harry's wrist.

"Yeah, we got them awhile back," Harry answered, ruffling Teddy's hair in apology.

Sebastian was staring at the three with his jaw dropped. Gadai shook his head. "Exactly _how_ much money to do you have?"

"A lot less after buying these."

"Well why they have worked without a problem, they have also left ya with an extreme handicap, little Savior." Harry raised an eyebrow in question. "Ya can't control yerself. Take that bracelet off and you go berserk the first time you try and use any high powered magic." He gestured at Ron and Hermione. "Kill one'o these two and the stones they wear die with'em, which leaves you a ticking time bomb. Volcano stones are meant to help contain power while one learns to use it. It's not a permanent solution."

Ron shifted uncomfortably while Hermione stared at Harry with a face that clearly said "I-told-you-so!" This was obviously an old debate between the friends and Harry didn't like it being brought up again.

"Ron and Hermione aren't going to die because I won't let anyone kill them," Harry stated coldly.

"Oh is that how the world works?" Gadai asked sarcastically.

"It's how _my_ world works," Harry snapped childishly.

"You are a danger to yerself and those around you until you learn to control your magic without any help."

"I am in control! I only lost it last night because of that bloody healing pool!"

"You have the _illusion_ of control but no actual experience. Christoph has seen that now and that gives him an advantage when fighting you!"

"What do you think he's going to do? Destroy the bracelet? That'll just make me stronger and that doesn't help him at all."

"It'll make ya berserk and lose the ability to think rationally and that'll hurt everyone!"

"So then why would he bother to do it?"

"Enough!" Hermione's loud voice suddenly interjected. Gadai and Harry fell silent, glaring at each other. "Stop it, both of you. Harry, whether you want to hear it or not, Gadai is right. We should have taught you to control your magic long ago instead of relying on these bracelets."

"Why didn't you?" Wufei asked, his eyes narrowed as he listened to the fighting.

"Because Harry is the strongest wizard of the age _with_ the bracelet," Ron answered. "Without it..." He shook his head, unable to find the words to express how amazingly powerful his friend truly was.

Duo glanced at him. "You really that strong?"

Harry shrugged. "Don't know. Never really tested it."

"Enough," Heero's voice rang out and everyone turned to him. "Harry will need to be taught control. Wufei, research this topic and come up with a plan to help him. Hermione will assist you." Wufei and Hermione nodded. "While they are doing that, we must uncover Christoph's full plan. There has to be more to his schemes than trying to control the Potter inheritance."

"I think we have an idea of what he's up to," Harry offered, looking at Gadai and Sebastian. "Sebastian showed me some of his memories from when he served Gadai's family."

"Former family," Gadai corrected absently. "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking then I agree." He sat back in chair, a thoughtful look on his face.

"What do you know?" Heero demanded.

"Christoph wants to create more Veela," Harry explained. "The population has been diminishing for the last couple of decades as more half-breed children are born. Veela are mating with witches and wizards and their children are choosing human magic over their Veela blood more often than not. That's starting to take a big toll on the Veela culture.

"Christoph wants to start mating Veela and muggles. Out of the three races, Wizard, Muggle, and Veela, muggles have the weakest traits. Children born from Veela and muggles are pretty much as powerful as pure blooded Veela. And they won't have the problem of choosing which world or culture to be a part of because really, what would a child choose? To be a powerful and beautiful creature, or an ordinary, boring person?"

"So it's another world domination scheme?" Duo asked. "Been there done that."

"Not sure about dominating the _entire_ world but definitely trying'ta increase the Veela population. Christoph is also the one attempting to expose magic," Gadai added. "He's hiring less than reputable wizards to cause scenes and break the laws using magic. He wants the muggles to see wizards acting evil so that he can swoop in and charm them into believing Veela are benevolent."

"Ingenious," Quatre murmured. "If we did not know the three of you, we would believe the lie as well."

"They're not all lies," Wufei pointed out. "The Wizarding government has not acted in the best interest of muggles and has behaved in mistrustful ways."

"It's not our government's job to protect you," Ron pointed out. "It's supposed to protect _us._"

"There's one other problem we need to figure out," Harry interrupted a possible argument. "Christoph has been planning this for years, long before the Second War started. He's been placing his people into families who hold a lot of power and money in the muggle world."

"Placing people?" Quatre demanded. "As in sleeper agents?"

"Aye, if necessary," Gadai confirmed. "Though their main objective is to become part of the family. So if the heir to a million dollar fortune suddenly falls ill and can not perform their duties, their loving spouse or child can step up and take their place."

"And with the Veela charming powers, it wouldn't be hard to seduce any man or woman," Trowa mused.

"Not only that, but when the Veela chose to reveal themselves to the muggle world, all these powerful people would support them because they are secretly Veela themselves or married to them."

"So he has the muggle world completely under his thumb," Hermione realized. "Even if magic was revealed and wizards came forward in the name of peace, Christoph would still be able to turn public opinion against us."

"Do we know the families who have been targeted?" Quatre asked. "Perhaps we could reveal the farce?"

Gadai glanced at Sebastian who shrugged. He placed a finger to his temple and slowly pulled a silver thought from his head. He cupped his hands and held it out. Without hesitating, the magical people at the table leaned forward and touched the pool of silver. After a moment everyone sat back and Sebastian returned the thought to his head.

"The Winner family wasn't targeted," Ron announced. The silver strand had been a memory of all the families Sebastian knew about.

"No and neither were the Peacecraft and Khushrenada families," Hermione added.

"I believe that is because they are more politically geared and in space," Gadai theorized. "I believe Christoph's targets are business owners focused on Earth. He is able to watch them more closely and filter money from them whenever he needs."

"That certainly explains the sudden prosperity of the Veela," Hermione said. "Over the last ten years their wealth and economy has grown, despite their insistence that they are suffering from the war."

"So we should do what Quatre suggested and confront some of the families being controlled. Try and reveal the truth."

"That shouldn't be too hard," Gadia shrugged. "Just force the Veela to transform."

"How would you do that?" Trowa asked.

"It's a simple spell but a powerful one," Gadai explained. "So long as the caster is more powerful than the Veela, it will work."

"I can do it," Harry offered.

"You gonna go crazy if you do?" Duo asked.

Harry pouted slightly at him. "No. My magic is back under my control."

"Barely," Gadai muttered under his breath. Harry glared and ignored him.

Heero spoke next, his voice authoritative. "Quatre, Harry, and Trowa will confront the business people who are suspected of being controlled."

"And the rest of us?" Duo asked.

"We will hunt Christoph."

Duo's grin was nearly feral.

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll join the little Savior. Got a personal grudge to settle."

Heero didn't like the idea but Quatre and Trowa shrugged. They were confident that if Gadai tried to cause trouble they would be able to handle him.

"Fine."

"Cool, looks like we got a plan!" Duo grinned. "Let's take the fight to the Veela."

*!*!*

Because of how many people had been targeted by Christoph, it was decided that Gadai and Sebastian would work as one team while Harry, Trowa, and Quatre would be the other. Harry tried hard not to fidget as he sat next to Trowa at the first office they planned on visiting today. Quatre had forced him into a nice business suit and Harry felt that the fabric was rather constricting. Sure the outfit was tailored made for him and therefor fit perfectly but that didn't mean it was comfortable. Harry hated being dressed up for any reason.

"You look like you need to go to the bathroom," Quatre teased, his eyes fixed on the magazine on his lap.

Harry scowled and sank back into the comfy couch they were waiting on.

"Why do _I_ have to be dressed up? Aren't I just pretending to be a bodyguard?"

"You still need to look professional."

Harry turned his eyes to Trowa but his brother merely shrugged. He was used to wearing the formal clothes by now and had little sympathy for his whining brother. Though it was quite amusing watching him squirm.

"How much longer is this guy going to make us wait?"

"We have to be patient," Quatre schooled. "We are the ones who showed up without an appointment."

"If it were anyone other than Quatre we would not be allowed in," Trowa pointed out.

"The fact that you two are the most patient people in the world is really annoying. Why can't you get bored like the rest of us?"

Quatre rolled his eyes with a playful smile while Trowa laughed quietly under his breath. They had both missed spending time with Harry. It was a relief to have him back.

After half an hour of waiting (and Trowa and Quatre being annoyed by Harry's quiet whining) the doors to a large office opened. Harry sat up straight eagerly and Trowa placed a hand on his arm, reminding him to act professional. The teen managed to school his face into a mostly impassive expression.

Quatre didn't stand but he did set his reading material aside. An older man, probably in his late forties, was shaking hands with his business associates. He was short, barely taller than Quatre, with gray hair and eyes. His smile was lopsided and his nose looked as though it had been broken in his youth and never healed properly.

The other business men left and Carol Windsworth, owner of a multi-billion dollar computer parts business, stepped forward to greet Quatre. The blonde stood and accepted the offered hand.

"Mr. Winner, it's a pleasure."

"Good morning Mr. Windsworth. Thank you for working me into your schedule. I apologize greatly for the inconvenience."

"Think nothing of it," Windsworth dismissed. "I admit it was difficult rearranging my schedule however my curiosity at this sudden meeting couldn't be ignored. Please, step into my office."

"Thank you." Quatre followed, gesturing casually to Trowa and Harry. "My bodyguards, Mr. Barton and Mr. Porter."

Windsworth nodded to Trowa politely and ran his eyes over Harry. Quatre smiled slightly. "Mr. Porter is in training."

Windsworth nodded understandingly while Harry shot Quatre an annoyed look. Really, he had won a war and proven himself a capable warrior and still everyone treated him like nothing more than a trainee. Both Quatre and Trowa failed at hiding their amusement at Harry's annoyance.

The office was extremely large with a private bathroom attached. Pictures lined the walls of previous CEOs of the company along with diplomas and various awards Windsworth had earned over his career. A large desk was pressed against the back wall with a tall chair. Windsworth took a seat and gestured Quatre into a chair before his desk. The blonde sat and Harry moved to take another seat but Trowa gently grabbed his arm and shook his head, standing behind Quatre stoically. Harry quickly did the same and flushed when he caught Windsworth smiling at his slip.

"So what can I do for you today, Mr. Winner? Is Winner Corp thinking about expanding? Want to make me an offer?"

Quatre laughed at the man's playful joke. "Not even I could afford to buy your company outright." The blonde became serious. "No, I'm afraid my business is of an unpleasant nature."

Quatre picked up picture on Windsworth's desk. It was of his family. His wife, a young woman with long blonde hair and striking dark eyes, was smiling while holding his three year old son, a little boy who looked nearly identical to his mother. Harry felt his heart ache suddenly. He hadn't fully realized until this moment what they were doing. The plan was to free the muggles from the Veela control however for some, like Windsworth, that also meant possibly destroying families. The family appeared so happy in the portrait.

"My wife, Thalia," Windsworth offered, a dazed smile coming over his face. "She's truly perfect. I can't imagine what I did to deserve such a gorgeous woman. And our son, Aldric, not the best name, I know, but she insisted."

Aldric was the name of the first Veela ruler, Harry knew. It was a popular name for Veela boys. Quatre set the picture down.

"Is your wife here, by chance? I heard she enjoys working with you."

"Yes, she's around here somewhere, I'm sure. But enough small talk. Why have you come today, Mr. Winner?"

Quatre smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. "It's actually concerning your business. I'm afraid I've uncovered a plot by someone very close to you who intends to overthrow your company and take it for themselves."

"Corporate espionage?" Windsworth exclaimed.

"This person has managed to worm their way into not only your business, but your heart as well."

Windsworth frowned. "You sound like some poor poet. What are you talking about, Winner?"

"Your wife is not who she claims to be," Quatre said seriously, looking the older man straight in the eye. "She's a spy for someone who wishes to seize control of your business and money."

For a moment, Windsworth merely stared. Then his face darkened with fury and he stood, slamming his palms to the desk so hard it rattled.

"How dare you!" he hissed. "How dare you come into my office and speak such blaspheme about my wife!"

"I know this is very difficult to hear Carol, but you must listen to me. Your wife is not who she seems. She's been lying since the moment you met her."

"My wife is perfect! She can do no wrong! Everything about her is near saint like. She is a gorgeous woman who I am lucky to have in my life and without her I am nothing!"

Harry shook his head as he listened. "This isn't going to work, Quatre. He's completely ensnared by her."

Quatre shook his head. "I'm not willing to give up just yet. Carol, listen to me. What do you actually know about Thalia? Do you know where she's from? Where she grew up? Who are her parents or childhood friends?"

Windsworth was flustered for a moment as his mind searched for the answers to Quatre's questions. He shook his head and glared, raising a finger and pointing. "OUT!" he bellowed. "Get out of my office this instant! You have made a powerful enemy today, Quatre Winner! Now leave before I have my security physically remove you from the building!"

With a heavy sigh, Quatre nodded to Harry. The teen raised his wand and cast a light sleeping on the muggle man. Windsworth was confused as he slumped back into his seat and began snoring quietly.

"When we stop this Thalia girl the Veela charm on him will be removed and he'll start thinking clearly again," Harry said.

"Yes and then he will have to deal with the reality that his wife never loved him and his child is only half human."

The doors to the office suddenly flung open as the very woman they had been speaking of entered with a flourish.

"Carol darling! Your secretary called and said she heard terrible shouting—"

As soon as the woman's eyes landed on the three she paused. She took them all in and gasped when she spotted Harry's scar. With a hiss, Thalia turned to run but Harry flicked his wrist, slamming the doors shut and locking them. He waved his wand, casting an anti-apparition charm around the room.

Thalia whipped around, hissing. "You! What do you want?"

"For you to admit the truth," Quatre stated coldly. "We know what Christoph's plan is and we are here to put a stop to it."

She sneered. "You're nothing but some weak muggle fool. What could you know of our great leader?" She glared at Harry. "You had your chance. You could have had everything your heart desired but you gave it up. You're _nothing_ compared to our King."

"Your great leader is on the run," Harry snapped. "Forced into hiding because he knows I'm coming for him."

"A pathetic wizard will never be able to stop the King of the Veela! Your kind has always been so delusional, so convinced of your own higher-than-thou status. You've used the Veela for long enough!"

"Us?" Harry exclaimed. "We don't use the Veela for anything!"

The woman scoffed. "You ensnare our children to chose your ways rather than our own! You make us dress up as mascots for sports and use our hairs for your wands!"

"That's called giving kids a choice and having a job!" Harry snapped. "No one forces them to be a mascot or to chose one culture over the other! And the only people who can handle wands made with Veela hair are witches or wizards with Veela blood themselves! You're painting yourself as a victim when there's been no crime!"

Thalia's face was red with rage and she seemed to lose the ability to speak as she opened and closed her mouth furiously. With a deafening screech, the woman transformed, her claws extending and her face stretching into a beak. Two fireballs appeared in her hands and Harry raised his wand, putting up a shield around them.

"You will not stop us!" Thalia hissed.

She threw the fire but, to everyone's surprise, she didn't aim for them. Instead the fire went straight towards Windsworth, who was still sleeping in his chair. Quatre, being closest, threw himself over the desk and managed to tackle Windsworth to the office floor just as the fireballs incinerated his chair.

"What are you doing?" Harry exclaimed. "He's your husband!"

"He's a means to an end," Thalia corrected cruelly. "I have only put up with him to gain control of his company and to bare a child. I am secure enough now that if he dies, everything will be mine!"

On the floor, Carol was staring at Quatre with wide, horrified eyes. He had been woken when Quatre tackled him. The blonde could offer no words of comfort and placed a hand on his shoulder in silent support.

"You've spent years of your life with him!" Harry insisted. "You have to feel _something_!"

Thalia scoffed. "The only thing I feel is pride that I managed to continue this long with a worthless muggle all in the service of my great King!"

"You're disgusting," Harry spat.

Carol chose that moment to surge to his feet, his face a mask of fury even as tears gathered in his eyes. Thalia stopped in surprise and quickly returned to her human form as Carol stepped closer to her, his fists shaking with rage. Quatre stopped him from getting to close.

"You... you vile bitch!" he ground out. "All these years... all this time we've never been in love! You... you _tricked_ my mind. Used some sort of... of _magic_? What are you? What is our son?"

"Powerful," Thalia stated proudly, her chin held high. "We're more powerful than your puny muggle mind can comprehend. Now, stop this foolish behavior and remember your place."

As they watched, Thalia's beauty increased. Her eyes became soft and loving and her body was warm and inviting. Her smile was as sweet as honey. Carol's anger slowly left him as he eyes began to glaze over.

"Enough," Quatre snapped. He raised his gun and fired, shooting a hole in the wall just behind the Veela's head. She was startled out of her magic and Carol was freed from the spell. "There will be no more trickery or playing with people's minds. I will not allow it."

Thalia hissed. Before anyone could stop him, Carol suddenly lunged towards Harry. Caught off guard, Harry stumbled back into Trowa as the business man grabbed the gun resting on Harry's hip. With shaky hands, Carol turned and pointed the weapon at the woman.

"You conniving bitch! I'll kill you for this!"

"Stop, Carol!" Quatre stood next to him, gently setting his hand on Carol's wrist. "Violence is not the answer here."

"She tricked me! For years I thought I was in love but I never was! Even when we first met I didn't like her! It's only through... through _magic_ that this, this _creature_ was able to worm her way into my world! I don't know what she is! I don't know what my son is! Give me one reason! One reason I shouldn't kill this filthy animal right here and now!"

"Because she's not worth it," Quatre stated calmly. "You're better than this. You're better than her."

Carol's hands were still shaking and that made holding the gun even more dangerous. Gently, Quatre pushed his hands down and took the weapon. Harry turned the Veela woman and unceremoniously cast a stunning charm at her. Overwhelmed by Harry's power, Thalia crumbled to the ground in a heap.

Trowa handcuffed the unconscious woman as Quatre sat Carol down in a chair. Harry conjured up some tea and handed it to the shell-shocked man. He took it but set it down quickly as his shaking hands rattled the cup against the plate loudly.

"What do I do now?" Carol whispered.

A beep from the phone startled them all and a voice spoke from the phone speaker. "Mr. Windsworth, your next appointment is here."

Quatre stared in surprise. "No one heard anything?"

"After she came barging in here saying someone complained about the noise I put a silencing charm up," Harry explained.

"Ah, I see." Quatre turned back to Carol. "We have some friends, they're from a place called the Ministry of Magic." At Carol's disbelieving look, Quatre smiled. "I know, it sounds ludicrous. They're going to come and try and answer your questions. Explain what Thalia was and help you to understand."

"What about her?"

"She's going to be arrested," Quatre answered.

Carol nodded, his mind still blank. "She was my wife. She still is my wife. The mother to my child. I can't believe..."

He trailed off hopelessly. The phone beeped again. "Mr. Windsworth?"

Quatre leaned over and touched the intercom. "This is Quatre Winner. Please cancel all of Mr. Windsworth's appointments for the rest of the day and clear his schedule completely tomorrow. A family emergency has come up that requires his immediate attention."

There was a pause before the secretary answered hesitantly. "S-sir?"

"Do as he says, Martha," Carol ordered. "And get me the best divorce lawyer in town."

"Yes sir, ri-right away!"

"Carol, we have to go," Quatre said gently. "We need to turn Thalia in to the authorities and there are others like her we must stop. Please, do not tell anyone what has happened here today."

Carol looked up, surprise showing through his disbelief.

"If others start to hear what we're doing, it's possible the Veela will flee and we won't be able to arrest them. So please, don't say anything."

"Someone from the Ministry will be here within the hour to help you," Harry assured.

"I'll come back to check on you as well, as soon as I can," Quatre promised.

Carol nodded absently, his mind obviously not with them anymore. After hesitating a moment longer, the three finally shrugged and Harry apparated the group away.

**A/N: So I think that's the only scene I'm going to show with them confronting the Veela "sleeper agents." Everything else will just be summarized. I know how I want this story to end I'm just not sure how to get there. I'll do my best to not leave you guys hanging for so long again.**

**Well if anyone remembers this story, please review!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty:**

Harry sat before Wufei and Hermione with his legs crossed, trying hard to keep his annoyance in check. Wufei's eyes were closed as he attempted to lead them in meditation. Hermione's eyes were wide open and glaring at Harry who was not "breathing properly." After a moment he was subdued by Hermione's glare and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"The key to control is finding your center," Wufei explained, his voice soft. "You have a temper and it needs to be kept in check. You are much easier to defeat when blind with rage."

Harry tried to do as he was told. He relaxed his body and turned his attention inward. His magic was swirling under his skin, dancing through his veins. He smiled at the warmth it provided.

"Harry."

Hermione's angry voice interrupted him and he opened his eyes to see objects floating around the room. The furniture was hovering in the air and Wufei was staring at it in confusion.

"Sorry," he sighed and carefully set the things back down. "I wasn't paying attention."

"Exactly!" Hermione crossed her arms. "That's the problem! You have more magic than you know what to do with so the moment you stop focusing this happens!"

"All I did was lift some furniture!"

"_This_ time! What about in the future? What if it happens during a fight and you lose control?"

"Then I blow up the world," he deadpanned.

"Enough," Wufei snapped. Hermione shut her mouth with a snap. "Granger, leave."

She whipped around. "What? But I—"

"Am being a distraction. I will take it from here."

Wufei stared her down and Hermione finally stood with a scowl. She turned on her heel and strode from Harry's room, slamming the door shut behind her. Wufei turned to Harry.

"Why are you so resistant to learning this?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm not…"

"You were always a good student," Wufei pressed. "You followed orders and worked well with others. What is it about your magic that makes you so hesitant to try something new?"

Harry sighed and leaned back on his hands, uncrossing his legs. "Because it's not new. I've already tried this before."

"Elaborate."

"Hermione's right, Wufei. Hermione's always right. I know these bracelets are just a temporary fix. I've know that since the moment we got them." He looked at his wrist and played with the stones absently. "But everything I've tried has failed. I tried learning meditation to increase my control and that helped but it didn't solve the problem. My magic is always right there, right under my skin ready to go." He glanced up at his friend. "I know we make jokes but I really am strong. So strong sometimes I scare myself."

Wufei frowned in thought as Harry looked away, falling silent. "You are afraid of your own power."

"When I lost it because of that healing pool all I could think about was fighting. All I wanted to do was travel the world hunting anything and everything. I lost myself. I didn't think about Duo or my friends or the world. All I could think about was fighting."

"And when your magic was brought back under control your sanity was returned," Wufei mused. "Then we shall switch tactics."

"What do you mean?"

"For the moment your power is contained. We will worry about controlling it later. What we shall focus on first is you. Training your mind to detach from the desire to fight. Your fear of your own power is making you weak."

"How do I do that?"

"Luckily for you, Heero has been through this. When the Zero system took control of him it took a great deal of mental fortitude to break free. I will teach you the methods he developed to save himself."

Harry nodded and crossed his legs again, staring seriously at Wufei. "Okay, where do we start?"

*!*!*

Ron leaned back, staring at the three dimensional map displayed before him. "Okay, so the Ministry people have scoured the Troll Mountains and valleys surrounding them and found nothing."

As he spoke the mountains on the map turned red.

"And we didn't find anything in what you wizards call the Dragon Mountains," Duo added. The map changed color accordingly. "We didn't find any dragons either."

Ron smiled slightly at Duo's pouting tone. "When this is over I'll take you to meet my brother Charlie. He's a dragon tamer in Romania. You can see all the dragons you want to then."

"I better," Duo grumbled.

Heero pointed at the map. "If we assume Christoph hasn't fled the country that means he is not hiding in the mountains as we expected him to."

"From Trowa and Gadai's reports all the Veela they have confronted have been absolutely fanatical about serving their king," Duo mused. "I think we should entertain the idea that Christoph never ran at all. I think he's hiding in the city."

"That his followers are hiding him?" Ron asked.

Duo nodded. "What are the Veela doing right now without their king?"

"Hermione said they have withdrawn into their borders and shut down everything. There's no trade or communication. According to her when the ruler is incapacitated their pre-chosen successor steps up."

"Who's the successor?"

"Well in this case it was Christoph's sister but we all know what a number Harry did to her. So I guess the council of Veela would take control until he comes back or a new king is chosen."

The door to Quatre's study opened and Hermione walked in, holding a book. The three glanced up at her in surprise.

"I thought you were working with Harry and Wufei?"

She scowled at Ron's question before ignoring it completely. "I had a thought and wanted to discuss it with you."

She stepped forward, holding the book out for them to see. A picture of two young Veela children in formal clothes was on the page. The older boy had his arm wrapped around the girl and both were smiling.

"This is Christoph and Adeline when they were children," Hermione explained. "I've been reading up on Christoph's history to try and find a clue about where he could be hiding. All the books I've read state he was a devoted brother and cared for his sister greatly."

"So?"

"So Harry nearly killed Adeline. If these books are right, then Christoph is going to want to heal her as quickly as he can. And the fastest way to do that is to take her to a healing pool."

Ron nodded and turned to the map. He flicked his wand and the Monegros Desert of Spain lit up.

"Aside from the pools controlled by the Veela the nearest healing spas are here," he said. "There's two more in Romania but with how injured Adeline was I doubt he would risk traveling that far with her."

"Then this is where we'll go next," Duo decided. "What's around the area?"

"Well the pools themselves are located in the desert, away from the muggle population," Hermione explained. "There's a small wizard community there full of humanitarians who study medicine."

She tapped the map with her wand and a green spot indicated where the healing pools were located while a brown dot marked the location of the wizard town known as Peace.

"Other than that there there's not much there."

"Who inhabits the town?" Heero asked.

"It's run by the Spanish magical government but people from all over the world go there to train in medical fields." Hermione sighed wistfully. "It was my dream to go and study at the healing pools but I chose to become an Auror instead."

Ron looked guilty and shifted uncomfortably. Hermione noticed right away and quickly placed a hand on his arm.

"And I have never regretted it," she assured him with a smile. "I'm very happy with how my life has turned out."

Ron smiled at her and the two shared a brief kiss. Hermione turned back to the map.

"All different races and people are welcomed in Peace. Anyone who wants to learn medicine takes a vow to do no harm and is allowed in."

"And they're all bleeding hearts so even if they knew what a tyrannical bastard Christoph is they would still take him in and help him," Ron grumbled.

"That's called being a decent person, not a bleeding heart," Hermione scolded.

"If he's hiding out here then we need to be careful about this," Duo said, looking at his partner. "We can't bust in or he'll run. We need to sneak in and find him."

"Agreed. How is Harry's training progressing?"

Hermione puffed up slightly and barely managed to stop her pout. "I'm not sure. Wufei told me to leave."

"Too much nagging?" Ron teased. Hermione glared at him.

"I'll go find out," Duo offered. "Heero, you start working on an ambush plan."

Duo left the three to get started and climbed the stairs two at a time. He paused outside the door to his and Harry's shared room, listening. When he didn't hear voices he knocked and let himself in. Harry was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. Wufei was sitting in a chair near him, his hand resting on Harry's wrist.

"Everything okay?" Duo asked.

"He is in deep meditation," Wufei explained. "I am teaching him to control his temper."

Duo smirked. "Good luck. Who would have thought such a nice kid could blow up so easily?"

"Did you need something?" Wufei asked. "We will most likely be working on this well into the night."

"We're pretty sure we've found where Christoph is hiding. Heero's crafting a battle strategy now to try and ambush him."

Wufei frowned. "I am not confident in allowing Harry to fight yet. We have only just begun."

Duo nodded and sat on the bed, absently touching his boyfriend's leg. "After the craziness we saw the other night I'm not sure we can fight Christoph on our own. We'll need some serious power to back us up."

"It was rather…intimidating," Wufei agreed.

"I can't believe they were flying. I mean, we've flown, but never without a plane or mobile suit. They were just…" Duo trailed off and shook his head.

"According to Granger that is not typical behavior. Only the most powerful of their community have performed such feats and even among the elite it is extremely rare."

Duo stared at Harry. "I used to beat him up every day. I worked him to the bone to get him up to my standards. And the whole time he could have killed me with the flick of his wrist."

"If anything we only made him stronger," Wufei mused. "Before we trained him all he had was his magic. Then we taught him how to fight and increased his physical abilities."

"If he ever goes rouge we're going to be in a lot of trouble."

Wufei smiled slightly and shook his head. "You mean you will," he said with a straight face. "I'll not get in the middle of a lover's quarrel."

"Hey, what makes you think it'll be a lover's quarrel that pushes him over the edge?"

"Simple. You're his lover."

Duo glared at his friend who stared very seriously into his eyes. With a huff, Duo stood. "I will never play poker with you."

"It's just as well. I would defeat you easily."

Duo grumbled under his breath and grabbed the door. "Can I at least sleep in here tonight?"

"No. I do not wish to be disturbed."

He rolled his violet eyes. "Fine." He sent a smirk to Wufei. "Then I'm sleeping with Heero tonight. It's only fair, after all."

"You say that as if I should be worried," Wufei dismissed. "Try not to anger him until he shoots you."

"You worried about me?"

"The paperwork would be an enormous hassle."

Duo laughed. "Call if you guys need anything."

Wufei nodded and Duo slipped from the room with a smile.

*!*!*

A few days later everyone met in Quatre's living room for a briefing. Harry was sitting on the couch next to Duo and Wufei, slightly out of it. He had been working tirelessly with Wufei on learning to control his emotions, and by extension his magic, and hadn't been getting a lot of sleep. It surprised him how hard it was. Harry had always been a reactive type of person. It was his Gryffindor nature, he assumed. All their adventures he and the other two had dove in headfirst, trusting their instincts more than their minds.

Wufei was teaching him to control that impulse. At first Harry thought it would be easy, just exert a little self-control. In reality it was difficult. He had to split his focus on controlling his instincts but also listening to them but not acting until he was sure he was in control and knew what he was doing. For someone like Harry, it was a challenge.

Duo glanced at Harry and then over to Wufei with a confused look. "What the hell did you do to him?" he asked.

"Because his magic tied directly to his emotions I am teaching him to control them."

"He looks like a zombie."

"I can hear you, Duo."

Duo peered at his face. "So? I'm not lying."

Harry pouted. "I'm just tired, okay? Who would have thought focusing and meditating could be so exhausting?"

"If it were easy it wouldn't be worth doing," Quatre piped up. He appeared before Harry with a cup of tea. "Here, this will help."

"Thanks."

Everyone settled in and Heero stood before the group with his laptop. "I want updates from everyone on your progress. Gadia, you will start."

The man nodded. "Well we managed ta get five families 'fore the Veela caught wind of our workings and vanished. All five Veela's we exposed –four females and one male— are in the tender loving care of the Ministry of Magic now."

"Did you get any information from them?"

The thief shook his head. "Nah. They all spouted the same ol'junk. You'll never stop us. Christoph is great… blah blah blah."

"Quatre?" Heero shifted his focus to the blonde.

"We were able to help three more families before the other Veela agents were warned." Quatre's blue eyes were dimmed as he spoke, his heart breaking for the families that had been ruined.

Trowa spoke next. "One of the families had a child who was ten years old. The little girl, Amelia, said something that we thought worth mentioning."

Quatre nodded. "Yes, her mother had explained to her what she was and ordered her to keep it a secret from her father and everyone else. However, Amelia is very devoted to her father and told us something after we arrested her mother."

"Christoph has some sort of power source that he can access to give himself an immense amount of magic," Trowa went on. "The little girl didn't know anything about it but heard her mother mention it once or twice. She believes it was in his castle in the Veela capital city, Vitrol."

"A power source?" Ron repeated. "What kind of power source?"

"She didn't know."

"Are there items that can be drawn from to enhance one's magical abilities?" Heero asked.

"Of course," Hermione answered. "There are plenty of objects out there that do this. And because Christoph is Veela there could be any number of things. Because Veela are technically considered to be magical creatures they can use any number of magic enhancing objects that humans can't because it would destroy our bodies."

"Greeeaaattt," Duo growled. "Because we didn't have enough to worry about."

"Granger, I want you to research this," Heero ordered. "Try and narrow down possible sources and look up ways to nullify and defend against them."

Hermione nodded. "Right."

"Wufei, how are you progressing on your assignment?"

Harry fought the instinct to snap at Heero for referring to him as Wufei's "assignment." Technically that was true and getting pissy about it wouldn't help anyone. So Harry chose to keep his mouth shut and not argue.

Wufei glanced at him and nodded in approval. "We are making progress," he announced.

Duo was looking between Harry and Wufei with a frown. "I don't think I like this," he complained. "I liked my hot-tempered little ball of fire boyfriend. He's awesome in the sack."

"Duo!" Harry exclaimed, his face turning red. "Shut up!"

The others rolled their eyes and groaned while Duo laughed. "Just making sure you're not turning into a robot."

"You're a jerk," Harry muttered embarrassedly. Duo smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"Keep working," Heero ordered. "We're going to need Harry at full strength within the next two days." He nodded at Ron who pulled out a large sheet of parchment and unrolled it. A map appeared and everyone leaned forward to look.

"We believe Christoph took his sister here to be healed," Heero explained, pointing at the Monegros Desert in Spain. "This the closest location of healing pools. The town controlling them is referred to as Peace and boasts a neutral stance in all matters. It is meant for training medical personal only."

"Because of the extent of Amelia's injuries I'm assuming it will take at least a week to heal her. If our assumption is correct, Christoph won't leave until she's back on her feet which means we have about three days," Hermione added.

"Do you plan to challenge him?" Wufei asked.

"No. The town houses all races, including Veela. We don't want to alert them to our presence and have Christoph escape. The plan is to surround the town secretly while a chosen group infiltrates the people and flushes Christoph out."

"Who's doing what?" Duo asked.

"Granger is the only one who has ever been to this place so she will be the guide for the infiltration group. I want someone magical on the outside watching the perimeter so Weasley will be there. I will take Quatre and we will use his space heart to try and locate Christoph. Duo and Trowa will accompany us. Gadia and Sebastian will stay outside the city to watch the perimeter as well."

"And us?" Wufei asked.

Heero stared at Harry for a moment. "If you can prove to me that your powers are under control and you are not a danger to anyone then you will join the infiltration team. Otherwise, you will stay here with Wufei, who will make sure you do not do anything foolish."

"You want me to stay here?" Harry exclaimed. "You do know none of you have a chance of beating this guy without me, right?"

"I've made myself clear," Heero said. "You have two days to master yourself. Everyone spend this time preparing. Dismissed."

*!*!*

Harry growled under his breath as he once again lost his focus. With a tired sigh, Wufei opened his eyes and stared at his pupil. Giving up for the moment, Harry stood and angrily began pacing the room.

"This is stupid!" he complained. "I was doing just fine earlier! Why can I suddenly not focus?"

"Because you are angry," Wufei answered easily. "Meditation is harder to perform when you are upset."

"Well of course I am!" the teen snapped. "Heero's trying to bench me from this fight! And aren't you pissed off? You've basically been ordered to become a babysitter."

"No. I am content to perform the duty assigned to me. It is my honor to do what is best for the team, no matter what that task may be."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Well sorry I can't be as centered as you."

"You could if you stopped whining and tried." Harry glared at him and Wufei stood. "Move all the furniture against the far wall and do not use magic to do so. I will return in a moment."

He left before Harry could question him and the teen sighed. He did as he was told and moved the bed and dressers out of the way. As Harry finished the door opened and Wufei came back in with Trowa. Harry smiled at his brother.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Meditation can be difficult when you have an excess of energy," Wufei explained. "Exercising your body is just as important as exercising your mind. To that end, Trowa has agreed to spare with you. I will observe."

Harry shrugged easily. That sounded perfectly fine to him. He could use a some one-on-one to work out his angry energy. The brothers took up defensive positions and Wufei placed himself near the wall.

"Begin!"

Trowa didn't hesitate and shot forward, catching Harry completely off guard. He punched him in the jaw and the teen fell to the floor with a surprised shout.

"Owe!"

"Granger has been brewing numerous healing potions so Trowa will not be holding back," Wufei drawled. "Aside from not using magic, you will not hold back either."

"Could have said that before," Harry complained as Trowa pulled him to his feet.

"Begin again."

Once more Trowa moved without warning. He caught Harry in the stomach with a hard punch that nearly winded him. The older man spun and kicked Harry's legs out from under him. Harry managed to spring back up before Trowa's heel could connect with his head.

"Let me get my balance for Merlin's sake!" Harry exclaimed.

Trowa did not heed his words and continued to attack ferociously. Harry barely managed to defend himself as his brother hit him with one cheap shot after another. Trowa was purposefully aiming for his weak points and tripping him up. Harry ground his teeth. So much for this being a relaxing spare to release energy. If he didn't know any better, he would say Trowa was purposefully trying to make him angry.

Harry nearly missed blocking a punch as the thought crossed his mind. Of course that's what Trowa and Wufei were doing. They wanted to make him angry so that he could practice controlling his temper in a fight. The meditation wasn't working so they decided to move on to the "practical" part of the lesson.

"Man, can't you guys just come out and say what you want instead of trying to trick me all the time?" he demanded.

Harry took a deep breath and concentrated on the fight. He let his emotions fade to the back of his mind and focused solely on stopping Trowa's attacks. He let go of his anger and was able to control his movements more easily. His counters weren't as wild and found their marks more often. Just as Harry was getting the upper hand a blow from behind sent him sprawling to the carpet.

"Ahh!"

Harry whipped around and was flabbergasted to see Quatre standing there, a gentle smile on his face. He blinked, his jaw hanging open. He hadn't even noticed the other man come in. Before Harry could demand an explanation Trowa surprised him with a kick to the side that sent the teen rolling.

"Damn it!" Harry shouted, beyond angry at the sneak attacks and cheap shots. These guys were supposed to be family!

Without thought he latched onto his magic and used it to shoot himself into the air high enough to touch the tall ceiling. He kicked out, aiming for Trowa's head, but the other man dodged quickly. With a flick of his wrist Harry wrapped Quatre up in invisible ropes.

Suddenly Wufei's voice cut through the air. "Focus!"

Harry landed on the ground and paused, realizing what he had just done. With great effort he shoved his magic down and took a deep breath. He had lost his temper and used magic against his family. That couldn't happen again. They waited a moment while Harry composed himself before Wufei called, "Again!"

*!*!*

Two days later the group once again met in Quatre's living room. They were surrounded by small backpacks filled with gear they might need during a fight. Hand bombs, extra guns, and ammo we packed along with body armor. Hermione carried numerous vials of healing potions and magical bandages guaranteed to stop bleeding no matter how serious the wound.

"Kingsley's got twenty Aurors in strategic locations around Peace," Ron explained, pointing at the map. "He's agreed to work alongside us but we won't give his guys orders, and they won't give us any either. They're really just there to help civilians if the fight gets out of control or Christoph tries to run."

"Understood. Here." Heero handed out long range radios and everyone slipped them into their ears. "Use the radios when possible because magical people can't listen in on the frequency. If there is too much magical interference in the air, then we will use the bracelets to get into contact. If those fail or we are separated everyone has a communication mirror as a last result."

"Got it," Ron nodded. He glanced at Harry. "So you're going with them?"

"If I can keep my temper in check after everything these three assholes just put me through, I can manage this."

Quatre smiled into his hand. "Oh come now, Harry. We weren't that terrible, were we?"

Harry stared at him in disbelief. "You were the worst of all! It's a side I've never seen of you before."

"Wait, _Quatre_ was the worst?" Ron asked. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head?"

"Yes! Don't be fooled, Ron. He's vicious! He's got everyone tricked into thinking he's just some sweet guy from down the block but in reality he's even more brutal than Heero!"

Ron shook his head. "I don't believe you, mate."

Duo and Quatre were laughing quietly together while Trowa smiled at the description of his lover.

"Believe it," Heero interrupted. "Quatre is not someone to take lightly in any situation. Now focus. Is everyone prepared?"

They nodded and picked up their supplies. Hermione, Ron, and Harry each held out a portkey and the group latched on.

"Very well. Move out."

The portkey's activated and they were whisked away.

**A/N: So I feel bad for making you wait this long and all you get is a filler chapter. I hope it's at least interesting. I tried to put some humor in there too. My original plan was to post the next chapter with this one but I'm stuck… again. **

**Not much to say. I hope you guys enjoyed. **


End file.
